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HUNGARY 



KOSSUTH: 



OR, AN 



!Hinjritiiii f ijmsitinn nf tli^ kit ^u^mm fxuMm. 



By REV. B. P. TEFFT, D.D. 



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JOHN BALL: 

PmLADELPHIA: No. 48 NORTH FOURTH STREET; 
NEW ORLEANS: No. 56 GRAVIER STREET. 

eiEKEOTrPED BY L. JOHNSON AND CO. 

1852. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by 

JOHN BALL, Agent, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 

Feunsylrania. 



PRINTED BY SMITH fc PETEK9, 

fraukliu Duildiugs, Sixth Sires' below Arch, roiiut.'pbkk 






TO 



Cjje national Ussmblij nf 3BEttganj, 

AND TO 

Cjie |5attiot0 nf \\)t late 33ungariau ^Rennlutinn 

IN PARTICULAR, 

THE FOLLOWING WORK 



IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



BY THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



The following work is not intended to be either a history of 
Hungary, or a biography of Kossuth ; and I indulge the hope, 
that the critical reader will not look down upon it from too high 
a stand-point. Perhaps a frank statement of the circumstances, 
by which I was led to its composition, will be the best justification 
I can offer for its imperfections, as well as the most satisfactory 
exposition of its design. 

In the autumn of 1842, while a resident of Boston, I enjoyed 
frequent opportunities of conversing with the well-known Signer 
Alvanola, the Italian revolutionist and refugee, who, on several 
occasions, directed my attention to the Protestant Hungarians as 
the stanch and powerful friends of popular liberty, and the politi- 
cal hope of Southern Europe. He represented them as the 
unbending opponents of Austrian despotism, living in the heart 
of the Austrian Empire, to whom Italy, as well as several other 
of the Southern nations, would owe its ultimate liberation, if it 
was ever to be delivered from its bondage. The Hungarians, he 
said, were not only to give political freedom to those countries, 
but they were destined, he thought, to become the champions of 
the Protestant religion, and to bring about the downfall of papal 
Rome. 

Such remarks, respecting a people but little known out of 
Europe, and unappreciated even there, at once arrested my atten- 
tion, and caused me to look somewhat into their former history. 
From such works as were then accessible to me, several of which 
are frequently quoted in the following pages, I have obtained the 
fullest conviction, that the words of the Italian patriot were 

1* 5 



G PREFACE. 



undeniably true. From that day forward, I looked upon Hun- 
gary as the most interesting country of Southern Europe ; and 
■when the recent revolutions broke out, what Hungary would do, 
and what she did do, now her expected day had come, were the 
questions that interested me more than any others of the kind. 
I watched her carefully, and with indescribable interest, through 
her long and bloody conflict. I regularly searched the leading 
newspapers of this country, and of Great Britain, to see what 
signs might possibly appear, that she would now fulfill the expec- 
tations of her friends. I saw the cloud that rose up in the Banat, 
then spread over Croatia and Sclavonia, and burst with fury on 
the Magyar land. With every American, I rejoiced to see the 
invasion of the Croats broken, and the infamous but talented 
Jellachich hunted from Hungarian soil. With every Ameri- 
can, I rejoiced also to behold the armies of the Austrians, sent 
into Hungary to crush the first hopes of independence there, met, 
routed, and driven with indignation over the Hungarian frontier. 
With the civilized world, so far as that world is free, I suflfered 
more than I can tell, when I saw the soldiers of two tyrants, 
Austrian and Kussian, marching down upon three sides of the 
ill-fated country, instructed never to leave the land until Hunga- 
rian liberty should be no more. When the final struggle came, 
in common with the friends of human freedom everywhere, I 
became almost absorbed in the progress of the war, seeing, as all 
men saw, that republican principles and the Protestant religion, 
in the whole south of Europe, would rise or fall with these brave 
defenders of the truth ; and when, after a hundred battles, the elec- 
tric telegraph and the foreign journals brought to us the mourn- 
ful intelligence, that the Magyars had been betrayed, that the 
army was disbanded, that Hungary was fallen and Kossuth a 
refugee, I felt, as did every American, what no language can 
describe. 

The cause of Hungary being thus lost, for that time at least, 
my whole interest began to center in that glorious man, who, 
with a patriotism almost unparalleled, and wath cfi-orts nearly 
Bupcrhuman, had given himself up to the work of liberating and 
restoring his native land. No sooner, however, were the battles 
over, and Austrian despotism had again laid its fetters on the 
press, than the hireling papers of Vienna began to circulate all 



PREFACE. 



sorts of falsehoods, not only respecting the late disturbances, but 
particularly respecting the part acted by the immortal Kossuth. 
They represented him, not as a patriot, but as an artful and am- 
bitious demagogue, who, from the beginning, had wished to take 
advantage of the troubles of Europe to put himself at the head of 
Hungary, and to extend his hand of tyranny over the provinces 
connected with the Magyar realm. In this way, they expected to 
blunt the sympathies of the free nations of the world, and thus 
pave the way for his extradition by the Porte, and for that igno- 
minious death to which he had been unanimously and barbarously 
doomed. 

The falsehoods thus put into circulation were copied into the 
government oi'gans of Great Britain, because it was found neces- 
sary, in order to appease the anger of the people, to justify the 
ministry for pledging the good will of the nation to the Austrian 
despot, and for turning a deaf ear to the supplications of the 
Magyar patriots. From England, the shameful slanders of Hun- 
gary and her champion were imported into this country; and 
very soon, there were certain writers astir, who, for the notoriety 
of being singular, or for some other cause, began to adopt the 
falsehoods, and cast a shade upon the patriotic object and glori- 
ous deeds of the revolution. 

At this point, being called upon to deliver a lecture before the 
New England Society of the city of Cincinnati, I took occasion, 
with a special object in view, to devote the entire address to the 
life, labors, and character of Kossuth. I wished, within my 
limited circle of influence, to do what I could in making the 
motives and conduct of that great and true man more perfectly 
understood. I wished, also, to direct the attention of my friends 
to his condition as a prisoner, that something might be done for 
his release. I had no further object in view ; but this object, 
very far beyond my most sanguine expectations, was welcomed 
by a large and enlightened audience. The lecture was repeated, 
by request of many citizens of Cincinnati, before the same society 
and in the same place; and, in addition to a series of stirring 
resolutions, a memorial to Congress was passed by the Society 
and assembly in the following words : " To the Senate and House 
of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled — 
Wc, your memorialists, citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio, and others 



8 PREFACE. 

of the United States, would most respectfully ask your aid in pro- 
curinj^ the liberation and freedom of General Kossuth, by appoint- 
ing one or more persons as an Embassy of Peace, to be dispatched 
in one of our best ships of war to the Court of Turkey, to request 
of said government the liberation of Kossuth, and to tender him 
the hospitalities of our country." This is the course of procedure 
that had been laid down, as the duty of this country, in the body 
of the lecture. 

A few evenings afterwards, by request of the citizens of Spring- 
field, Ohio, the address was read before the Springfield Lyceum, 
whereupon another memorial, of the same character with the one 
just presented, was adopted by a very large meeting, and at once 
put into circulation among the people. The inhabitants of 
Springfield were exceedingly ardent in their efforts to further 
the great purpose. 

On returning from Springfield, I found a letter from the Hon. 
William Dennison, in relation to the same subject ; and, that the 
honorable position of Ohio may be hereafter understood, respect- 
ing this matter, I subjoin the correspondence that at this time 
occurred, together with parts of the subsequent proceedings of 
the Legislature : 



Columbus, January 19, 1850. 
Rev. B. F. Tefft, D.D.: 

Dear Sir, — The undersigned, members of the General Assem- 
bly of this State, having heard of the high consideration enter- 
tained in regard to your lecture on Kossuth, by those who have 
had the good fortune to hear it read, will esteem it as a distin- 
guished favor if you will consent to visit this Capital, at your 
earliest convenience, and read before us, and such others as may 
be disposed to form a part of your auditory, the same lecture. 

If your engagements will permit of your acceptance, we will 
be pleased to have you, by return of mail, designate the time 
when we may anticipate your presence among us. 
With great respect, 
We are truly yours, 

W. Dennison, 
And the Members of both Eouscs. 



PREFACE. 



The following is the reply to this communication : 

Cincinnati, January 21, 1850. 
Hon. William Dennison, 

And the Members of the General Assemhlyof Ohio: 
Gentlemen, — In reply to your note of invitation, to read my 
lecture on Kossuth before the Legislature of Ohio, and such 
other citizens as may be inclined to listen to it, I have only to 
say, that I do not feel at liberty to decline ; and my anxiety to 
see something done, in behalf of the great Hungarian hero, by 
the General Assembly of Ohio, and by the Congress of the United 
States, would lead me to perform almost any labor, and undergo 
almost any sacrifices. My compliance, in fact, with your kindly 
expressed wishes, is only from the strong and fervent hope, that 
the Legislature of the State wiU take the matter under immediate 
consideration, and do something, according to its wisdom, which 
shall rouse the nation to its duty. Providence permitting, I will 
be ready to lecture at Columbus, according to such arrangements 
as you may make, on the 29th instant. 

With sincere regard, 

I am yours, 

B. F. Tefft. 

The citizens of Columbus, and the General Assembly, did do 
something, and something worthy of them. The former, on 
motion of Mr. Lawrence, among many others, passed the follow- 
ing resolution : "Resolved, That this meeting earnestly urge upon 
the President of the United States, and upon Congress, to exer- 
cise their utmost power to procure the liberation of Kossuth, his 
associates and family, at the earliest practicable period : also, to 
intercede with the Powers of Europe for the liberation of all 
Hungarians in captivity, in such manner as may be most efficient 
and speedy, and to provide them an asylum in the United States." 
On motion of Mr. Burns, the following resolution passed unani- 
mously : " Resolved, That a copy of the proceedings of this meet- 
ing be communicated to the President of the United States, and 
to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, with 
the request that the same be presented to each branch of Con 
gress." 



10 ' - PREFACE. 



The General Assembly, on the other hand, after a brilliant 
discussion of the subject, passed the following resolutions, which 
were preceded by a lengthy and able preamble, setting forth the 
causes and occasion of their action : 

" Resolved, h)/ tJie General Asaemhly of the State of Ohio, That in our 
deliberate judgment, the present critical condition of General Louis Kos- 
suth, and of his family, loudly call for the friendly and peaceful interpo- 
sition of the American people. 

Iteaolved, That wo believe it to be the duty and privilege of the Congress 
of the United States, to send immediately an embassy of peace to the Sultan 
of Turkey, in one of our national ships, who shall be instructed respectfully 
and urgently to solicit of the Sublime Porte, the liberation of Kossuth and 
his fellow captives, in the name of the American people, and to take such 
other steps as shall be best calculated to secure the removal of the great 
Hungarian, and of his afflicted family, to this country. 

Resolved, That our Representatives in Congress be requested, and that 
our Senators be instructed, to bring this subject, as soon as possible, before 
Congress, and to pursue such other measures as shall most certainly and 
speedily carry out, if possible, the objects set forth in the foregoing reso- 
lutions. 

And he it further resolved, That the Governor be requested to forward a 
copy of the foregoing to the President, and to each of our Senators and 
Representatives in Congress." 

Another step was taken, at the time now mentioned, which, 
though it did not lead to the end proposed by it, was the imme- 
diate occasion of the composition of the work, here offered to the 
public : " On motion of INIr. Perry"— the quotation fs from the 
published proceedings — "a committee of five, consisting of 
JMessrs. Perry, Chase, Tlirall, Randall, and Pugh, was appointed 
to confer with Dr. Tcfft for the purpose of inducing that gentle- 
man to proceed to Washington, and there deliver, in the presence 
of Congress, the lecture read by him on the liberation of Kossuth." 
To comply with such a request, however, was not only impracti- 
cable, but, as I felt, very unbecoming a private citizen having no 
connection with public business. The honor was therefore 
declined ; but, feeling that I might do something in another way, 
not only toward the accomplishment of the object, but in prepar- 
ing the citizens of this country generally to understand the true 
character of the Hungarians, and the nature and extent of their 



I 



PREFACE. 11 



own duty, should Hungary ever make another effort for her inde- 1 
pendence, I undertook, at the request of many persons, to expand 
the lecture to a small volume. Iji the mean time, as was expected, 
the President of the United States promptly adopted the sugges- 
tion of the General Assembly of Ohio, and of the citizens of 
Springfield and Cincinnati, and made the overtures to Turkey 
that had been thus recommended. 

No sooner, however, had the labor of composition been fairly 
begun, than it was cut short by a sudden and nearly fatal sick- 
ness ; and when, after a suspension of nearly six months, a part 
of which period was spent in the libraries of New York and 
Boston, the work of writing was again undertaken, it was plain 
enough, that there was a demand for a very different book than 
what had been at first intended. Numerous false statements, 
very unjust to Hungary, chiefly from the source already indi- 
cated, had been put into circulation in this country. The former 
history of the Magyars, their character as a people, and nearly 
every thing connected with them, that had any relation to their 
late revolution, had been strangely misrepresented by certain 
writers. Therefore, though still adhering to the humble plan of 
merely giving an exposition of the Hungarian war of independ- 
ence, I concluded to do so by so enlarging the compass of my 
work, as to admit of brief discussions of all those topics, which 
needed to be understood in order to a clear comprehension of the 
general subject. Not only the character and condition of the 
country, the origin and condition of the people, their religions, 
their language and literature, their constitution and government, 
but the relations of the country to other countries, the numerous 
attempts of the Austrians to overthrow its independence, and the 
many memorable efforts of the Hungarians in defending the 
liberties of their father-land, seemed to be essential, as the matter 
now stood, to the attainment of correct ideas respecting the origin 
and character of the revolution. When once engaged upon these 
several subjects, it seemed also admissible to allow the pen to run 
along with them a little farther, in each case, than was strictly 
demanded by the main object of the work ; for it was supposed, 
that, if the unity of the subject was maintained, the American 
reader would be willing, while making a special examination of 
the great question, to extend his acquaintance with so novel and 



12 PREFACE. 



deeply interesting a people as the ]Magyars. Nearly every reader, 
however, -will doubtless meet with some pages, and perhaps some 
chapters, that he will think it unnecessary for him to read very 
closely ; but, in general, it will be found, I think, that a due com- 
prehension of the question of the work will require a perusal of 
what is written in the text, while the more abstruse and less 
popular portion of the matter has been thrown into the margin 
in the form of notes. 

Finally, after the following pages were in type, conscious of 
my want of due preparation for such a labor, I laid the proof- 
sheets into the hands of two well-educated Hungarians of my 
acquaintance, requesting them to correct whatever errors they 
might detect ; and though I received them back again with their 
approval, and without marks of correction, I am still conscious 
that the critical reader will find many things over which he will 
have to lay the mantle of his charity. The truth is, during all 
the time while the composition was in progress, I was pressed 
with the onerous duties of an editorial office ; and, during the 
greater part of it, in addition to this burden, I have had the 
general oversight of a literary institution, which demanded much 
of my attention. 

With this frank avowal, therefore, of all the facts and circum- 
stances connected with the preparation of this volume, I commit 
it to the public with the hope, that it may contribute something 
to a more perfect understanding of the Hungarian revolution, as 
well as awaken a more lively interest in the welfare of the most 
interesting people of modern Europe. 

B. F. T. 

Cincinnati, August 15, 1851. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Chaeacter and Condition of the Codntrt : — Position of Hungary — Soil — Tillage — 
Metals— Timl)er — Rivers— Rail-roads— Maygar population — Security of position — Ease 
of living— Intellectual culture— The arts— Literature— Splendor— The picture turned 
— The true state of the country and of its population given pp. 17 — 32 

CHAPTER II. 

Origin and Condition op the People : — The old Cimmerians — ^The Scythians — ^The 
Sarmatians— The Romans — The Goths— The Huns — The Magyars — Magyar conquest 
of Hungary — Portrait of the Magyar — The Magyar peasant — The Magyar shepherd 
— The Magyar soldier — The Magyar female — The Sclave — The Sclavacks— The Scla- 
vonians — The Serbs— The Wallachs— The Jews — The Germans— The Szeklers — The 
Qipsiofi — Total population of the country pp. 33 — 57 

CHAPTER III. 

The Religions of Hunoajit : — Religion as an element of society — Religion among 
the ancients — Power of religion in Hungary — Pantheism the religion of the Cimme- 
rians — Polytheism — Religion of the early Magyars — They were Monotheists — Believed 
in an evil spirit — Immortality of the soul — Oaths — Priests — Conversion of the country 
to Roman Catholicism — Independent Greeks — United Greeks — Lutheranism — Cal- 
vinism — Religions of the different races in Hungary — Animosity of the sects — Reli- 
gion in its bearings upon Hungarian politics — Connection between religion and educa- 
tion — Influence of religion upon social life — Equality of the religious parties — Statistics 
of Roman Catholicism — Statistics of the Independent Greek Church — Statistics of the 
United Greeks — Position and power of the Protestants pp. 58 — 78 

CHAPTER IV. 

Language and Literature of the Magyars : — The power of langiiagc — It is the 
receptacle of a people's nationality — Illustrated by the Greek language — Laws of 
different countries respecting language — Connection between language and religion — 
Language in our cwn country — Difficulty of rooting out a language — General charac- 
ter of the Magyar language — It is rich in inflections — Composition and resolution of 
words — The Lord's prayer in Hungarian — Its vocabulary analyzed and compared 
with modern languages — Affinity of the Hungarian with the oriental tongues — Sound 
of the language — The language rich and beautiful — Literature of the Magyars defec- 
tive — Influence of the Latin on the Hungarian — Inflvience of the French dynasty — 
Influence of the G«rman dynasty — Influence of the Lutheran Reformation — Efforts 
of the papal party to suppress Hungarian literature — Revival of Hungarian literar 
ture — Hungarian poetry — French school of Hungarian poets — The classical school — 
The composite or mixed school — The Hungarian school — The Hungarian drama — 
Hungarian Romance — General reflections pp. 79—109 

CHAPTER V. 

The HcTNGARiAN CoNSTrruTioN : — Original character of the Magyars — Character on 
eiiiering Hungary— They were ardently attached to civU liberty— They were not 

2 13 



14 TABLE OP CONTENTS. 



preparca for republicanism-First establishment of a constitutional governmcnt- 
Oovernmeut soon after moaif.ea-Form of government on entering Hungary-Regu- 
lations of Arpad-Gro« th of tlie constitution under Arpad's successors-Conversion 
of St Stephen makes a partial revolution in the form of government-Leading 
features of the constituUon of St. Stephen-Rise of the lower nobility to power in 
>;ovcrnmcnt— Progress of tlie constitution for five centuries— The National Assembly, 
as an exponent of the Uun^arian constitution, just prior to the late revolution— The 
King— The Palatine-The House of Magnatos-The House of Deputies and its Presi- 
dent—Manner of opening the Hungarian Pai-liamcnt— Constitution democratic- 
Powers of the people— Powers of the counties— The kingdom a confederation of small 
republics— General remarks pp. 80— UO 

CHAPTER VI. 

External Relations op the Countrt :— Condition of Europe at the immigration 
of the Magyars— The Magyars barbarians— All nortliem Europe equally barbarous— 
1. Hungary under the dukes of the House of Arpad ; 2. Hungary under the kings of 
the House of Arpad- The limits of the kingdom extended by this race of princes- 
Influence of Constantinople upon Hungary— Effect of the Crusades on Hungary- 
Condition of Europe at the extinction of the first dynasty of Hungarian kings— 
3. Hungary under the female dynasty of the House of Arpad— A new era begins— 
The French in Hungary— Charles Robert — Louis the Great — Maria — Albert and 
Elizabeth— Uladislaus— Matthias Oorvinus— Uladislaus Second— End of the female 
dynasty— Condition of Europe at that period — i. Hungary under the Austrian dy- 
nasty till the death of Francis the First in 1S3'3— Ferdinand and Zapolyi— John Sigis- 
mund and Maximilian— Khodolph the First— Charles the Third— Francis the First 
—Condition of Hungary at the death of Francis the First.— 5. Nations surrounding 
Hungary— Rise of Turkey — Rise of Russia — Rise of ]?russia — Rise of Austria — Gene- 
ral relations of Hungary to all these powers pp. 141—169 

CHAPTER VII. 

Atteiipts to ovERTnEOAV THE HUNGARIAN NATIONALITY: — The anagram of Frederic 
the Third — General Policy of the Austrians over Hungary — Hungary originally inde- 
pendent — The independence of Hungary for a long time acknowledged by surround- 
ing nations — Magnanimity of the Magyar rulers to the other races — Local independ- 
ence of the provinces and counties — Kings sworn to maintain the integrity and 
liberties of the country — The Austrian monarchs have all broken this solemn oath — 
Powers of an Austrian monarch in Hungary: 1. The system of taxation established 
by the Austrians in Hungary; 2. The Austrian rule in Hungary merely a usurpar 
tion; 3. Revolutionary intentions of the Austrians; 4. Opposition to the claim of 
Austria — Bothlen — George Uakoczy — Title of Austria to Hungary entirely unfounded 
— Policy of several sovereigns — Of Joseph the First — Of Charles the Sixth — Of Maria 
Theresa — The doctrine of liercditai-y succession established — The doctrine of female 
inheritance established by Charles the SLjth in favor of Maria Theresa — Attempts to 
overthrow the Magyar or Protestant religion — Bloody persecutions — Lamentations of 
the National Assembly— Suppression of the Hungarian language — Despotic measures 
respecting the national Hungarian dress — Fears of Austria that Hungary might 
some day attempt to recover her nationality and independence pp. 170 — 199 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Maqtars beteni) Tirani nation aijtt :— Interview between Haynau and the 
children of Kossuth characteristic of the sentiments of the people — Wrong supposi- 
tions corrected respecting the late revolution— The first rebellion, which occurred 
under the reign of Ferdinand— The second rebellion headed by Transylvania— Inter- 
vi-ntion of the Turks— Despotism of Austria— Mo.ses Tzekeli— Success of the patriots 
— Uotskay— Belhlea— Uotskay made king of Hungary- Sigismund Rakoczy elected 



TABLE OP CONTENTS. 15 



prince of Transylvania — George Eafeoczy — Hungary during the thirty years' war in 
Germany — Francis Rakoczy — 111 success of the patriots — Emeric Tokolyi — Absolute 
despoUsm of Leopold the First established— Levelled to the dust by Tokolyi— A truce 
asked for by the Austrians — Austria humbled — Austria seeks help from Poland — 
Sobieski comes to the aid of Austria — Francis Leopold Rakoczy at the head of the 
last memorable opposition to Austria — His character — Romantic early life — ^Returns 
to Hungary after a long confinement by the Austrians — Reasons for his rising — A 
man of profound genius — Hungary during the war between Spain and Austria — 
Joseph the First and his generals — The patriots successful — Base proposals of Austria 
r^ected — Continuance of the rebellion — The patriots once defeated — The tide of for- 
tune turns against them — Cause of this ill success stated — Termination of the last 
great struggle prior to the recent Hungarian revolution pp. 200 — 227 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Austrian Ketolution : — Luther the father of modern Republicanism — Rights 
and responsibilities go together — Personal responsibility and personal freedom go 
together — The doctrine of representation — Protestantism a denial of it — Spread of 
this doctrine of responsibility and freedom — ^Its appearance in Great Britain — In 
America — In France — The French Revolution founded on it — Results of the French 
Revolution — Settlement of Europe — Obstacles to the settlement — France and the 
minor nations of Europe opposed to it — Congress of Aix la Chapelle — France agitates 
the Alliance if ewse — Next a revival of the old federative system — Next the Alliance 
Anglaisc — ^Louis Philippe and the Paris Revolution — The Prussian Revolution — Revo- 
lution prepared for in Vienna — The University of Vienna a seat of democratic princi- 
ples — Contiguity of Austria to Hungary favorable to an Austrian Revolution — The 
Revolution rises out of Hungary — The National Assembly of 18S2 — Revisal of the 
peasant code — Foundation of the Hungaria,n democratic party — Opposition rises from. 
Austria — Baron Weselenyi and freedom of speech in Hungary — The baron tried and 
convicted of treason — Several young gentlemen convicted — Trial of Kossuth for 
treason — News of these proceedings consolidates the revolutionary party in Vienna — 
The association of 1834 — Release of Kossuth — His overwhelming popularitj^ — Petition 
to the emperor for the abolition of the censorship of the press — The tyranny of Met- 
ternich openly discussed by the people — Growing popularity of the Hungarian demo- 
cratic leaders — The Association of Protection — Eloquence of Kossuth — News of tho 
French Revolution reaches the Magyar capital — Great speech of Kossuth — Impression 
on the Assembly — The establishment of the Academic Legion — Petition to the empe- 
ror supported by a vast procession of Viennese — Position of Kossuth at this time — A 
Federal Empire advocated by Kossuth — Kossuth calls for the restoration of the Hun- 
garian ministry — The National Assembly seconds the call — Kossuth and the deputies 
appear in Vienna — The Hungarian ministry appointed — The Hungarian revolution, 
now considered complete — Influence of it upon the Austiian revolutionists — Ferdi- 
nand proclaims a constitution for the empire according to the plan laid down by 
Kossuth — First reform ministry in Austria — Second reform ministry — Progress of 
the revolution — Flight of the emperor — Europe in a state of revolution • • • pp. 228 — 269 

CHAPTER X. 

The Rebelmon oi the Sclaves : — Provisional Commission in Hungary — The demo- 
cratic party — They publish a programme of their principles — The Conservative party 
— The Radical party — Measures of the democrats carried in the Assembly — Sanc- 
tioned by the emperor — Joy of the Hungarians — Intrigues and artifices of the em- 
peror against the Hungarians — His accusatious unfounded — Laws respecting lan- 
guage just and generous — Trouble among the Serbs — Revolt breaks oxit among them 
against Hungary — It is fostered by Jellachich — Operations of Jellaehich reported to 
Jie emperor — Jeilachioh sn mm nned to repair to the emperor — lie refused to go— 



16 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Kcflections of the emperor— The imperial manifesto against Jellaehich— Jellachich 
remains in power notwithstanding— Hungary began to see her danger— Opening of 
the National Assembly— Speech of the Palatine— An army raised by the Hungarians 
in self-defence— The army treats the Serbs with moderation— Several battles— Efforts 
of the Tansclavic party, and the connection of Jellachich with it— The reaction in 
favor of the emperor— The emperor returns to his palace— He repudiates the act of do- 
position of Jellachich— Jellachich marches into Hungai-y— The Hungarians meet them 
—Treachery of the Hungarian commanders— Attempt of the Hungarians at a recon- 
ciliation—The National Assembly in great doubt— Kossuth cuts the knot of its diffi- 
cultics— Fears of the people— Jellachich laughs at the weakness of the citizens — 
Battle of A^alemcze^Jellachich defeated— The Hungarians pursue him— Jellachich 
Dictator of Hungary— Termination of the Croatian rebellion pp. 270—305 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Austrian Intasion : — Appointment of Jellachich regarded as a declaration by 
Austria against Hungary — Sentiments of different parties — Of the party of the reac- 
tion — Of the Sclavic portion of the democratic party — Of the German portion of it — 
Sympathy of Europe inclined toward the Hungarians — Concentration of Austrian 
forces about Vienna — First movement of the reaction inTienna — Favorable opportu- 
nity of the patriots neglected — Efforts of Kossuth to get promptness of action — State 
of the revolution at this time — Francis Pulsky a messenger to Vienna — Bom reaches 
Vienna and takes command of the revolution — Kossuth's letter to Bem — Forces of th« 
Hungarians — Speeches of Kossuth to his soldiers — Kossuth overcomes all opposition 
— His victory is too late — The battle of Sehwechat — The Hungarians are defeated — 
Massacres at Vienna — Address of the Catholics to the emperor — Address of tho 
Catholic bishops to their church-members — The whole land roused^Trcasonable let- 
ter of the Palatine to Ferdinand — Abdication of theemperor — Situation of Hungary at 
this crisis — Austria invades Hungary — Forces of the Hungarians — Kossuth as Presi- 
dent of the Committee of Defence — Han of the campaign — CouncU of War under 
Vetter — Bold movement of Giirgey — Heroism of Bem — Victories of Pevczel — Splendid 
actions of Gorgey— The Austrians aio humbled, routed, and expellefl pp. 306 — 33S 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Fall or Hungaut:— Eetrospcct of the three wars— Gratitude of the citizens to 
their defenders — Kossutli's mind troubled — Character of Giirgey — Kossuth's plan of 
operations- Gorgey opposes him— Gorgey wins the army— Fall of Buda— General 
success of the patriots— Tlie Austro-Russian army concentrating — Position of the 
Hungarian forces— Formidablcness of this third invasion — Views of Kossuth— Kos- 
suth's labors at home — Kossuth's proclamation to the people — Kossuth's oratory 
among the people— His last great effort in the National Assembly— Response of the 
country to Kossuth's appeals— Kossuth's unbounded popularity— Kossuth's negotia- 
tions with foreign Powers— His address to Europe— Barbarities of Haynau at the 
beginning of the campaign— First efforts of the patriots under Gorgey unsuccessful 
-Obstinacy of Giirgey— Change of plan -with the Austro-Russian forces— Battle of 
Eaab, the 2Sthof Juno— Battle of the Monostor— Giirgey removed from the command 
—Is partially restored— Battle of the 11th of July— Successes in the south under 
General Vetter— Bem, after a score of victories, at last overwhelmed— Retreat of the 
main army, under Dembinski, to Szegedin— Strength of the position— Enthusiasm of 
the people-Oorgey leaves Komom on his way to Szegedin-His treasonable conduct 
during the march-Oiirgey demands of Kossuth the dictatorship-Kossuth yields to 
him-Oorgey betrays his country and surrenders the army to the imperialists— Scene 
of the surrender-Butcheries of Haynau-The army of the patriots disbanded- 
Kossuth ll.es to Turkey for asylnm-Outrngcs continued by Haynau-Austria and 
Russia demand the extradition of Ko.vsuth and his companions-Dishonorable plan 
of saving the refugees-Glorious reply of Kossuth-Conclusion pp 339_S78 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTER L 

CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 

Not very far from the centre of continental Europe, and 
north of the Danube and the Save, lies one of the most fertile 
and fortunate countries in the world. It consists of two im- 
mense plains, northern and southern, lying at different eleva- 
tions, and both presenting their broad areas to the sun, by 
gently inclining toward the south. The great plains are cut, 
in all directions, by ranges of wooded hills, sometimes ap- 
proaching almost to mountains, by which countless valleys 
are formed, each, it would seem, as beautiful as the Tempean 
vale.* 

The soil of this country, though various in its character, is 
everywhere very deep and rich. Many of its hills are arable ; 
its numerous prairies are composed of a black, brown, or red- 
dish mold; and its vast bottom-lands, lying on the lower 

' Paget, in Ms Hungary and Transylvania, vol. ii. p. 98, Am. ed., 
as in other parts of his work, is in raptures with the scenery of the 
country. After climbing a lofty and steep hill, while going from 
Vdrhley to Hditszeg, he exclaims — " Fortunately, we were not without 
■cause for consolation ; for, on getting out of the carriage to walk, and 
looking back, our eyes fell on such a scene as I do not think the world 
can equal in loveliness." Miss Pardoe, who travelled in Hungary 
four years after Paget, while she corrects some of his statements 
respecting other subjects, confirms his eulogies on the beauty of its 
rural landscapes. City of the Magyar, passim. 

2* 17 



18 UUNUARY AND KOSSUTH. 



Danube, and bordering its smaller rivers, find their parallels 
only in the American valleys of our own great West.'' 

In a land of such beauty and fertility, husbandry is a recre- 
ation, rather than a toil. Fruits and flowers grow sponta- 
neously, and in great luxuriance, upon the uncultivated hills 
and plains. Every vegetable production indigenous to Europe, 
from Iceland moss to the rice and cotton plants, from the fir 
of the mountains to the olive of the vales, from the fruit- 
bearing brambles of the natural hedges to the loaded vine- 
yards cultivated by the hand of man, springs up to bear, or to 
bloom. 

The intersecting hills, abounding in the most preciousgifts, 
iron, coal, cobalt, zinc, alum, salt, antimony, litharge, lead, cop- 
per, silver, gold, carry into every section mineral resources 
scarcely rivalled in any quarter of the world. The coast of 
India, it is true, is lined by banks of the oriental pearl; Brazil 
can boast of whole provinces sparkling with the gem of gems ; 
the mountains of California pour down streams of gold ; but 
the land here referred to, filled with such a variety of trea- 
sures, constitutes a kind of cabinet of nature, where vast 
quantities of nearly all the precious and useful metals have 
been stored.^ 

* " The same crops," says Taget, vol. ii. p. 52, " are here repeated 
year after year, on the same spots ; the ground is only once turned 
up to receive the seed; a fallow is unluio-wn ; maaun-o is never used, 
but is thrown away as injurious ; and yet, with the greatest care and 
labor in other places, I never saw such abundant produce, as ill- 
treated, unaided Nature here bestows upon her children." The 
traveller is desci'ibing the Banat. 

" The country furnishes, also, unknown quantities of precious 
stones, such as amethysts, opals, chalcedonies, together with many 
varieties of crystals and petrifactions, to all the cabinets of Europe. 
The royal cabinet of Vienna, the wonder and glory of modern natu- 
ralists, received nine-tenths of its specimens from this source. City 
of the Magyar, vol. i. p. 206. The Pesth Museum is more recent. City 
of the ISIagyar, vol. ii. p. 200. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 19 

Though a region of innumerable plains, and prairies, and 
other open lands, more than one third of it, when its hills and 
mountains are included, is covered with heavily timbered for- 
ests, which add greatly to its beauty and its wealth. In these 
forests flourish the oak, the beech, the pine, and many other 
trees important in house-architecture, in ship-building, and in 
all the useful as well as ornamental arts. The poorest inhab- 
itant, who may not be able to supply himself with coal, is 
every where surrounded by thrifty woods, and, through the 
long evenings of winter, can enjoy the luxury of a warm and a 
high-blazing hearth. 

Hundreds of streams, great and small, rising in the north- 
ern districts, run southwardly to join the Danube, leaping over 
the rough and rocky edge of the upper plateaii, and rushing 
along through many a steep mountain gorge, thus creating a 
vast number of the best seats for factories and mills. The 
distribution of these natural powers, so certain to secure the 
full developement of the resources of a countiy, has been the 
object of universal admiration to all who have visited this 
favored land. Not only where the tastes and tempers of the 
people most loudly call for them, but where the raw materials 
of manufacturing industry and wealth more especially abound, 
and where that industry would most necessarily lead to wealth, 
are these ready-made, costless, and available forces most uni- 
formly found. 

The four largest rivers, one of them the largest and longest 
west of the Euphrates, pass directly through the country, 
connecting it commercially with the Eusine on the east, 
with the Mediterranean on the south, and, through the straits 
of Gibraltar, with all the waters of the globe. The great river, 
in particular, broad and deep enough to bear a navy upon its 
breast, seems not to be contented with even a diagonal passage 
through the land, but wanders and winds about, as if bent on 
visiting and uniting the most promising localities, and thus 
doubling its value with its increase of length. Its tributaries. 



20 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

dashing down from the adjacent Carpathians of the north and 
east, or flowing more serenely from the distant Alps on the 
south and west, are not more ready to answer the behests of 
mechanism and of art, than through the great central thorough- 
fare into which they enter, to exchange exports and imports, 
at the very doors of the people in every district, with the rich- 
est and remotest portions of the earth. 

A generally level country, with its mountain ranges so fre- 
quently cut through by streams, is a country where the modern 
railroad, that iron and ever navigable river, speedier and safer 
than its predecessor, is sure to undertake its wonders. The 
metal of that country's mines, the wood on its thousand hills, 
as well as the vast stores of coal deposited in its subterranean 
beds, furnish, so abundantly, materials for the construction and 
employment of these artificial ways, that they can not fail to 
run from valley to valley, to cross and recross innumerable 
plains, and to weave the whole region together into a mighty 
web of business and of profit, scarcely to be paralleled in any 
clime or age. 

The dominant population of this chosen land is of mixed 
Caucasian extraction, partly descending from the best race of 
men. By a very salutary law, which fixes the age of man- 
hood at twenty-four, they have been more successful than any 
other people in maintaining the original vigor of their line. 
Their pride of birth has prevented them from mixing, so far 
as any intermarriage with other nations has been practiced, 
excepting with the most perfect specimens of mankind. Thus, 
while preserving the general purity of their stock, they have not 
failed to improve it, to a very considerable extent, by crossing it 
with the best of other stocks, and in this way acquiring that 
peculiar versatility of powers, which comes from such a union 
of blood with blood. Their dark hair, their black piercing eyes, 
their thin and firmly compressed lips, their high bearing, their 
perfect symmetry and manliness of form, their quick and ner- 
vous action, contrast them strangely with the sallow and slow 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 21 

Sarmatiau, as well as with the clumsy and flaxen-headed G er- 
man, by whom they are surrounded, and over whom they bear 
such a legitimate and natural sway. From the beginning of 
their history, they have been celebrated for their physical har- 
dihood, for their intellectual sprightliness, and for nearly every 
moral virtue, which strengthens and adorns the character of a 
man. While the female is extremely beautiful, the male is 
generally healthy and robust — naturally industrious in peace, 
and next to invincible in war. A race remarkable for such 
endowments, called to action by such a promising position, 
could scarcely do less than cover the land of their inheritance 
with every manifestation of wealth, intelligence, virtue, and 
universal prosperity and joy. 

This national inheritance, filled with so many blessings, is 
surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, excepting a short 
distance on its southern border, where it is protected by the 
weakness of a neighboring government. It is thus completely 
shut out from other nations to the quiet and safe enjoyment 
of its own happiness. Lying entirely between the forty-fourth 
and fiftieth parallels of latitude, which in Europe are the geo- 
graphical limits of the most delightful climate within its 
bounds, it enjoys all the advantages which the seasons can con- 
fer, through all the changes of the rolling year. In its north- 
ern sections, during the winter months, it is blessed with that 
peculiarly healthful, elastic, bracing atmosphere, so common to 
the higher latitudes, which gives such a buoyancy and vigor to 
the mind. Along its southern boundary, on the contrary, 
which, if extended westward, would leave the best part of Italy 
above it, the fiowery and fruitful country is warmed and 
lighted by an Italian sun, fanned by Italian breezes, and can- 
opied by the pure cerulean of an Italian sky.* 

* Paget, vol. ii., p. 53, says expressly: "The climate of the Ba- 
nat, in summer, approaches nearly to that of Italy." Virgil, it is 
true, Georg. lib. iii., w. 349 — 35G, who had never seen the country, 
gives a very different description of the Hungarian climate : 



22 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



Such a country, it will be at once acknowledged, of such 
fertility, abounding with such a variety of resources, peopled 
by such inhabitants, characterized by such a climate, walled in 
by impassable mountain barriers from all foreign trouble, and 
left to the undisturbed and grateful task of developing and 
multiplying its own means of individual and social happiness, 
would seem to have been marked out by the hand of God for 
a second paradise. Here, we naturally infer, a new social 
miracle is to be performed. Here, a pure people is to have its 
theatre, a pure civilization is to be set in motion, a pure, a 
new, a more glorious era is to be begun. Here, agriculture, 
so long baffled by the stubbornness of other soils and climes, 
is to reach perfection, scatter flowers upon every valley, wind 
every hill with vines, pour its cereal treasures around the 
hearth-stones of every home, and over all the land. Here, 
manufacturing industry, so expensive and difficult in most 
countries, so natural and cheap in this, is to outdo itself, call 
forth the resources of every productive power, put into requi- 
sition every hardy and needy hand, and sit as a presiding and 
propitious genius on the skirt of every forest, and by the bank 
of every stream. Here, commerce, that higher genius, by 

"At non, qua Scythite gentes, Moeotiaque unda, 
Turbidus et torquens flaventcs Ister arenas, 
Quaque redit medium llhodope porrecta sub axem ; 
lUic clausa tenent stabulis armenta ; neque ullte 
Aut herboe campo apparent aut arbore frondes. 
Sed j acet aggeribus niveis iuformis et alto 
Terra gelu late, septemque assurgit in ulnas ; 
Semper hiems, semper spirantes frigora Cauri !" 
Ovid, also, who had seen the country, having spent nine years of 
exile near the mouth of the Ister, or Danube, tells us even a worse 
tale about the cold of that barbarous region ; but it would be almost 
too much to expect an exile from the Flaminian gardens, in a land 
80 utterly uncultivated, to speak the truth of the place of his ban- 
ishment. The curious scholar will find a touching lamentation in the 
poet's Tristiura lib. iii. El. 10, but vnll not trust it. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 23 

which the basest products are so magically transformed to 
gold, is to lade her trains and ships, send forth to foreign lands 
her best works and wares, bring back the choicest commodities 
of other countries, and thus crown the physical triumph of this 
teeming land. 

More than this, however, is to be expected of such a coun- 
try. History shows, that when a high-minded people have 
acquired the means of an agreeable and easy life, they natu- 
rally turn their attention to intellectual pursuits. It was so 
in ancient Egypt and Chaldea. It was so both in Rome and 
Greece. In such pursuits only can a thoughtful and reflect- 
ing man satisfactorily employ the leisure thus secured. Here, 
then, science is to be stimulated to a more than common life. 
The pure, blue sky, by which it is overhung, will invite the 
eye of the curious and aspiring to leave the sordid things of 
earth, and, like the wise men of Babylon before them, to make 
the first beginnings of their national learning, by studying and 
resolving the complicated but orderly motions of the stars. 
Astronomy, the prolific parent of the sciences, will call into 
existence and demand the intricacies of mathematics. Mathe- 
matics, as applied to celestial bodies, based on terrestial obser- 
vations and measurements, will give being to geography. 
Geography, though purely mathematical at first, afterwards 
becomes descriptive, deals in lines and limits, sketches conti- 
nents and oceans, describes lakes and landscapes, discovers and 
classifies the earth's inhabitants, and closes with a historical and 
political exhibit of the nations. Nations, the moment they 
are studied, are seen to be dependent upon the hidden trea- 
sures as well as the superficial resources of the earth, and 
demand the best endeavors and largest contributions of every 
science. All the sciences are thus linked together; all, in 
every age and country, have followed each other in this natu- 
ral succession ; and in the fair land now before us, they are all 
so liberally provided for, that each must flourish beyond all 
precedent. 



24 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



The arts, moreover, arc founded directly upon the sciences — 
living upon their life, and advancing with their success. Sci- 
ence, indeed, is mostly intellective, and can flourish in coun- 
tries of physical barrenness, if not oppressed by poverty. Art, 
on the other hand, is not only in itself creative, but demands 
a great wealth of material to supply it with the motives and 
the means of growth. Here the materials have been poured out 
by a lavish hand. Here, then, among a people of wealth and 
knowledge, the arts of social life will be found revelling and 
rejoicing in their most happy state. Nowhere will the returns 
of agricultural labor so bountifully repay every outlay of gen- 
ius in perfecting the implements by which that labor is per- 
formed. Nowhere can the spindles of the factory, or the 
hammers of the forge, or the trowel of the mason, or the mal- 
let of the carpenter, or any of the most tiny or gigantic of the 
engines and the tools of art, find such incentives to action 
— such means to work with, or such rewards. Nowhere can a 
model of a ship, or a paragon of a steamer, or a miracle of a 
locomotive, be more welcome, more profitable, or more at 
home. Everywhere, throughout this wonderful country, 
you will behold the demonstrations, everywhere you will 
listen to the busy hum, of art. In no region of the world, 
will you say, do the sons of toil construct such vessels, such 
raikoads, such machines to multiply productions, such engines 
to lighten labor. In no region do the mill, the foundry, the 
manufacturing establishment rumble, and blaze, and thunder 
with such enormous efi"orts, or with such infinite results. It is 
because it must be so. A people so proud and perfect, a land 
so fertile and fortunate, will have it so. The soil of every 
valley, the growth of every forest, the metal of every hill, the 
rush of every water-fall, the broad and placid bosom of every 
rolling stream, calls out for art. 

Literature, it will be added, will flom-ish among a people of 
such physical perfection, of such intellectual sprightliness, 
under circumstances so uncommonly propitious. The land 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 26 

they live in lies almost at the commercial as well as geographi- 
cal centre of the earth as depicted on the classic map. Their 
country is traversed, as we have seen, from corner to corner, 
by the great natural thoroughfare between Asia and Europe, 
and thus constitutes a necessary portion of the route to be taken 
by commerce, civilization, and human progress in their illus- 
trious circuit about the globe. Asiatic in their origin, but 
European in their growth and education, like the river on 
whose banks they dwell, they form the connecting link between 
the ancient and modern condition of mankind. They are the 
natural carriers of human knowledge between the prior and the 
present world. Their language, ancient and oriental in its 
original structure, modern and western in its subsequent devel- 
opement, embraces all times and places in its mighty scope, 
fitting them to read and appreciate, with the least amount of 
study, the literary productions of the Semitic, the Scandina- 
vian, and the Teutonic tongues. The works thus laid open to 
them, from the hymns of Orpheus to the tragedies of Shaks- 
peare, from the reveries of Pythagoras to the revelations of 
Bacon, and from Shakspeare and Bacon to the passing hour, 
contain every thing worthy of the attention of an inquiring or 
ingenious mind. Such a people, allied by nature and preju- 
dice to that mighty family of Caucasians, whose history is the 
history of both Asia and Africa for more than four thousand 
years, and connected by residence and interest with the 
mightiest branches of that family, whose glory has spread 
over the whole of Europe, and is now spreading over our own 
vast hemisphere, from the Atlantic to the Pacific shore, 
must feel such impulses to intellectual action, must be bound 
by such chords of consanguinity and affection to the erftire 
brotherhood of man, that nothing can deny them the possession 
of the widest, deepest, richest literature ever enjoyed by man. 
But splendor is the legitimate offspring of educated wealth. 
The glory of such a people will be visible in every thing on 
which the eye can rest. Gorgeous cities, filled with luxury, 

3 



26 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



will here rise on every plaiu, on the margin of every lake, and 
at the confluence of all the rivers. Broad and beautiful high- 
ways, lined by ornamental trees and hedgerows, and skirted by 
rural mansions, will wind through the blooming country in all 
du-ections. Ai-chitecture will crown every hill with beauty. 
Horticulture will strew roses over every landscape. Painting 
will perform wonders with the pencil. Sculpture will do her 
best in marble. Eloquence will make every hall and temple 
vocal. Music will burthen every breeze with melody. Over 
all the land will throng out the joyous populace — the children 
of ease and plenty — rejoicing in the work of their' hands, and 
thankful for the blessings of the Almighty. Justly did the 
Italian poet, living in the happy days of this favored country, 
and filled with the vision of its future, rapturously exclaim : 

"Beata TJiaglieria !" 
for never, in all respects, since the world dropped in beauty 
from the plastic touch of its Creator, has there been seen by 
mortals such a land of promise. 

Alas I a land of promise only ! Siich as has been described, 
considering what nature and cireumstanoes have done for it, is 
what it ought to be. It is, therefore, only the more mournful 
to contemplate what it is. Let us dispel the vision, and look 
for a moment on the sad reality, painful as will be the task.'^ 

Not one-third of the available soil of Hungary, rich and easy 
of tillage as it is, is at present under cultivation. The north- 
ern portions of it, as well as all its hills, are yet covered by 
primeval forests, or rendered forbidding to the farmer by the 
miserable scantiness of their crops. The southern sections, in- 
cluding one of its largest provinces, arc only partially recovered 
from the state of nature, which, in that latitude, is character- 
ized by woods, and fens, and swamps. The middle parts are 

' Dante himself, as if prescient of coming evil, couples his excla- 
mation with a doubt : 

" Beata Ungheria ! Se non si lascia 
rill malmcnarc" 



BiUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 27 



cultivated in the most primitive and unproductive manner. 
The ground is allowed to fallow every alternate year. The 
idea of a rotation of crops, and the practice of manuring and 
restoring lands, are almost entirely unknowi^ Barns and 
granaries are seldom seen. The implements of agriculture 
are of the rudest form, scarcely surpassing the rough instru- 
ments of barbarous nations, and not equalling those used by 
the old Romans according to the descriptions of their georgic 
and bucolic bard." The plough is a one-handled instrument, 
heavy, and totally incapable of fitly turning up a soil. The 
fork is a small sapling, or the branch of a young tree, to which 
nature has given the proper bifurcation. The grain, when cut, 
is seldom garnered, or even stacked, but is beaten out under 
the hoofs of oxen in the centre of the field ; the wooden flail 
is sometimes used ; and machines for threshing are just barely 
known. Notwithstanding the capabilities of the soil, which is 
adapted to the most unexampled variety of crops, wheat and 
corn are almost the only grains sown. Barley, which agricul- 
tural England has found so profitable, is rarely seen. Green 
vegetables, and garden esculents, and the savory herbs so im- 
portant in modern cookery, are generally neglected. The 
tables of the people are served by a rude and short list of 
dishes to which they are confined through every season of the 
year. The vehicles of the &rm, so correct an index of the 
agricultm'al condition of a country, instead of having fol- 
lowed the most ordinary improvements of modern times, rath- 
er remind the reader of the classics of those harhara plaustra 
so despised by Ovid.'' From a land more fertile than Sicily, 

* Virgil's Georg., lib. i., v. 160. 

' If the reader will compare vol. ii., cliap. iii. of Paget with the 
tenth elegy of the poet, and see how little improvement has been 
made in this particular during the last nineteen centuries, his philo- 
sophy may be a little puzzled. He may now see, in any part of Hun- 
gary, the original of the picture : 

" Ducunt Sarmatici barbara plaustra boves ?" 



28 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

more healtliy tlian Holland, more ftworcd than England, more 
densely populated than the great valley of the Mississippi, 
scarcely a box of corn, or a bushel of wheat, or a barrel of fruit, 
or the smallest quantity of any other agricultural product, is 
exported to any distant country. Though producing the best 
wines in the world, which might be multiiDlied in amount to 
almost any limit, they are so dear at the very places where 
they are produced, that the laboring people think no more of 
using them than of drinking nectar. So miserable is the yield 
of this rich country, when the season is the least unpropi- 
tious, that, every few years, a general famine spreads death 
and desolation among the laboring classes, unless their wants 
are gratuitously supplied by the hand of charity. While all 
other parts of the world are vieing with each other in the 
career of improvement, especially in the profession of hus- 
bandry, no improvement, no amelioration ever reaches the pop- 
ulace of this land of poverty. So far as all popular wealth, 
and ease, and the luxuries of domestic life are concerned, in 
their relations to the masses of the people, the most beautiful 
as well as bountiful region of the eai'th might as well be a 
desert. 9 

If we turn our eyes toward the rivers of the land, and seek 
after the mills and manufacturing establishments so amply 
provided for and so urgently demanded, we shall suffer an 
equal disappointment. The mines, it is true, are here and 
there worked by machinery ; but beyond a scythe and a soap 
factory, all Hungary has nothing, in this respect, more impor- 
tant than two or three large structures for the production of 
German pipe-bowls. 

Commerce is equally low in this miracle of a country. Be- 

for not only the clumsy cart of the field, but in Transylvania and the 
Banat, the carriages of the high^vay are yet drawn by these Sarmu- 
tian oxen. 

' Madame Pulszky, in her Blemoirs, vol. i., p. 04, gives a lively 
description of a Hungarian famine. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 29 

tween town and town, or plantation and city, it is often next 
to impossible to convey a load. The roads are narrow, un- 
worked, and, in the rainy season, extremely muddy. In some 
parts they are but little better than mere cattle paths. There 
are but two or three short and unfinished railroads ; and, until 
the year 1830, in a land of about twelve hundred miles of nav- 
igable rivers, not one steamer, great or small, was anywhere 
to be discovered. There was not even a Hungarian sail vessel 
to be seen passing up the Danube ; for the practice still ob- 
tained, for which the via Trajana was probably constructed 
by the Komans, of tugging the awkwardest of all tow-boats up 
the current, by the means of ropes passing from boat to bank, 
on which two or three scores of peasants were sometimes 
tackled. In 1835, there were thirteen steamboats on the Dan- 
ube and its several tributaries ', and, though their elegance and 
speed have been liberally eulogized by an English traveler, an 
American gentleman, whose experience of the world is ample, 
and whose word is the limit of controversy on a matter of per- 
sonal observation, describes them as flat-bottomed boats, pro- 
pelled with feeble engines, at an average rate, perhaps, of 
three miles an hour.^° Hungary, indeed, has really no com- 
merce. The fact is wonderful. Lying, for seven or eight 
hundred miles, on the banks of the greatest of European rivers, 
and almost within view of that inland sea, on whose bosom 
the first voyage recorded in history was undertaken and com- 
pleted, she has no intercourse whatever with foreign nations !" 
So far from wealthy, the whole country is impoverished, 
the very nobles themselves being often bankrupt. The people, 

" Paget calls the Zrini, one of these vessels, a <' remarkably fine 
ship," but steamboats in England are not models. Dr. Olin, the 
other traveler referred to, made the whole voyage of the Danube, in 
one of the thirteen steamers built by count Szhechenyi, from the 
mouth of the river to Vienna. Paget, it must be added, was going 
down stream. 

" The city of Tomi, situated just south of the Danube, where Me- 



30 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

generally, are cruslicd in hopeless poverty. All modes of 
industry are at a stand. All enterprise is laughed at as vain. 
The largest city contains less than ninety thousand inhabi- 
tants; though a portion of it, Buda, was built by the Komans 
in the time of Trajan. The towns aire miserably sustained ; 
while the villages, after all the apparent comfort of their long 
white cottages with neatly thatched roofs, are badly built, and 
as destitute of business as the places of human habitation can 
conveniently be made. 

All over this land of promise extreme ignorance prevails. 
The dominant people, it is true, are intellectual, sprightly, 
full of genius and of action; but all the other races are 
heavy, slow of thought, caring nothing for education, showing 
nothing, of conrse, of its influences, and possessing as little of 
its power. The best race itself is only beginning to have a 
science. If we look for the useful arts, we shall find the ori- 
ental gypsy, here called Zigeuner, who carries his blacksmith- 
ing kit and forge tipon his back, a very fit representative 
of them all. The fine arts are almost entirely unknown. 
Architecture, beyond the walls of the three larger cities, builds 
but rude dwellings for the rural gentry, and nothing but the 
long and narrow Hungarian cabin for those who cultivate the 
soil. Two or three painters, of no great abilities, are men- 
tioned by the Hungarian writers. In poetry and belles-lettres, 
the names of Horvath and Dobrentei stand almost alone. 
In history, the count John Mailath is the only author who 
has acquired any universal fame. In philosophy, or rather 
in political economy, the count Szechenyi is the only person 
known. Ferenczy is the only sculptor of any note ; and Fran- 
cis Liszt, who, it is true, is acknowledged to be the greatest 
pianist of his ago, is the only genius ever raised up by Hun- 

dea cut up the body of her hrother, when she returned with the Ar- 
gonauts from Colchis, is still called by its inhabitants, Tomisvar — an 
evidence that the region of Hungary is not a land of change. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 31 

gary, wlio could not be rej^eatedly overmatched by many of the 
smallest countries of modern times. ^ 

"With resources sufficient for one hundred and fifty millions 
of well-fed, well-educated and happy people, a fraction less 
than fifteen millions draw out an uncertain existence on Hun- 
garian soil. Each sub-division of its seven provinces, every 
one of its fifty-two counties, is capable of rearing up for Hun- 
gary a larger population than now occupy the most favored 
republic of our own flourishing New England ; and yet there 
is a spot in that same New England, not much more than ten 
miles square, rocky and barren as it is, that contains a tenth 
part as many people, and ten times as many successful and 
prospering people, as all the counties, divisions and provinces 
of Hungary combined. Indeed, the smallest of the New Eng- 
land states, so small that nearly every part of it can be seen from 
the highest steeple of its first capital, within fifty years has ex- 
ported more products, manufactured more fabrics, employed 
more ships, accumulated more wealth, printed more books, 
educated more minds, done more in every way for the well- 
being and progress of mankind, than the whole of this modern 
Eden for the last three centuries of time. For three hundred 
years, which are the years of modern history — the years at 
the beginning of which the new era of the world began — a 
dense cloud has rested on this unhappy country; and, at this 
moment, that cloud is denser, darker, drearier than it has 
ever been before. 

So strange a problem would, under any circumstances, arrest 
the attention of a philosopher or a statesman; but the masses 
of mankind become interested in it only when it has formed 
some practical connection with the general welfare of man. 
Such a connection has really been formed. The cause of 
Hungary has become the cause of the human race. Seated, 

'^ The works relied on for these statements are the City of the 
Magyar, Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady, Paget's Hungary and 
Transylvania, and the Historical Introduction by Francis Pulszky. 



32 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

as she is, upon tlie social centre of the world, with all her 
unemployed abilities and opportunities, she would spring with 
joy to the work of self-regeneration, then to the larger work 
of redeeming and blessing continental Europe, and finally to 
a glorious co-operation with universal civilization in the work 
of spreading light and liberty over all the globe, were she not 
bound, hand and foot, by some mighty and mysterious spell. 
Let her become what America now is, and a new age would 
spring from her and shed its splendors, not only upon Europe, 
but upon Africa, upon Asia, and upon the nations of the seas. 
That spell, however, is upon her. Exertions have been made 
to break it; but the exertions did not prevail. Sufferings 
almost superhuman have been borne and braved to dispel it; 
but it binds its victim not less securely than before. Battles 
have been fought, victories have followed after victories, yet 
this land of the Huns, this natural paradise, this country 
chosen for some wonderful destiny and duty by the providence 
of Grod, is now covered with a wretchedness scarcely to be 
paralleled in the annals of mankind. The victim, after a 
thousand heroic struggles, has just now fallen to the dust. 
Amidst the stillness of its sepulchral rites, while the nations 
of Europe are keeping quiet about the grave of their buried 
hope, not only the philosopher and the statesman, but the 
citizen of every enlightened country, will contemplate its 
untimely fate with pitying, if not tearful, eyes. The same 
tears, also, that bewail the nation's calamity, will embalm the 
memory of the man, who, at the hazard of all things, struggled 
to save it from this ruin, and who failed to accomplish his 
object only by the treachery of his friends. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 33 



CHAPTEE. II. 

OEIGIN AND CONDITION OP THE PEOPLE. 

The original inhabitants of the two tracts of country, Dacia 
and Pannonia, now known under the double appellation of 
Hungary and Transylvania, were, probably, the old Cimmeri- 
ans, so often mentioned in Greek and Latin fables, who, amidst 
the mountains and the fogs of their native or adopted land, 
lived a life of barbaric independence. Their dark valleys, on 
which the sun seldom shone, and where the people dwelt in 
perpetual darkness, supplied the poets of the earliest times, 
from Orpheus to Homer, with their most marvellous and 
captivating fictions. The soil of their country was so fertile, 
as to produce all the necessaries of existence without human 
labor; and they are said to have passed their time in idleness 
and in sleep. Like the citizens of the Italian Sybaris, they 
declared war upon cocks, not wishing to be disturbed, in early 
morning, by the cackling and crowing of the fowl; and every 
article of convenience, or of luxury, was prized by them in 
proportion to its power of contributing to their repose.^ 

' An example of the classic stories may be taken from the pages 
of the bard of Scio : 

"We reached old ocean's utmost bounds, 

Where rocks control his waves with ever-dm-ing mounds ; 

There in a lonely land and gloomy cells, 

The dusky nation of Cimmeria dwells, 

The sun ne'er views th' uncomfortable seats, 

AVhen radiant he advances or retreats. 

Unhappy race ! whom endless night invades, 

Clouds the dull air, and wraps them round in shades!' 
This fairy-land would furnish materials for a most amusing boo 



k 



34 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



Such a race could not long maintain themselves in a region 
as desirable as the one they held. About six hundi-ed and 
forty years before Christ, a Scythian tribe, driven from their 
homes near the Caucasian mountains by the Massagetae, fled 
westward and entered the territory of the Cimmerians. From 
fugitives they soon became conquerors. The aboriginal people 
were expelled; and their rich vales were occupied by the 
invaders. 

These Scythians were, probably, not of that royal race, 
whose exploits fill so large a place in ancient history. While 
in their original country, they were undoubtedly the conquered 
subjects of that higher family; and it is equally supposable 
that their expulsion was the result of a servile insurrection. 
On taking possession of their conquest, they remained a long 
time the same barbarians, that they had been before. They 
had no towers or fortified cities. They resided, not in houses, 
but in covered wagons drawn by oxen. They were particularly 
fond of horses, which ranged in immense herds along the rich 
intervals, ready for the demands of war. Bordering, however, 
upon the territories of ancient Thrace, which the lyre of Or- 
pheus had rendered a civilized country, they subsequently 
borrowed from it many of the arts of social life, and settled 
down to cultivate and enjoy the exuberant fertility of their 
adopted land.^ 

About the middle of the first century of the Christian era, 
the Scythians were conquered by the Sarmatians, whom He- 

of Greek and Latin legends. Ovid makes it the dwelling-place of 
the god of sleep. Homer's Odyssey, Lib. xi. " There are still to be 
found in Scythia," says Herodotus, Lib. iv. c. 12, " walls and bridges 
which are termed Cimmerian." 

* We are told by Herodotus, Lib. iv. c. 76, et supra, that the 
Scythians were, nevertheless, opposed to the introduction of foreign 
customs. He divides them into two classes — those who ploughed, 
and those who did not plough. Though resembling our Indians in 
many particulars, they were, apparently, a little more civilized. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 35 

rodotus makes the natural descendants of the Amazons and 
royal Scythians, who dwelt on the northern border of the 
Caucasian mountains. In the geographical works of Ptolemy, 
these Sarmatians are styled the Metanastae, as if they did not 
occupy their native country, but had "wandered" to a foreign 
place. By the Roman writers, they are generally called 
Jazyges, of whom there were three distinct families. The 
first family, surnamed Maeotae, remained in their native seat, 
between the Borysthenes and the Tanais, north of the present 
sea of Azof, where the Cossacks now reside. The second, 
called Basilii, occupied the greater part of European Sarmatia, 
of which the modern Russian empire is principally composed. 
The third, roused by the desire of conquest, rushed down 
upon the plains and into the valleys of their Scythian neigh- 
bors, who, after a long and bloody opposition, submitted to 
their conquerors. 

The territory thus acquired extended westward no farther 
than the river Tibiscus, now called by the German name of 
Theiss, beyond which was Pannonia, inTiabited by a tribe of 
Celts. Scythia was first styled Dacia by Ptolemy, who wished 
to distinguish it from the Asiatic Scythia, with which it was 
connected on the east. Pannonia, at the period of this Sar- 
raatian conquest, was a Roman province, it having been sub- 
dued by Tiberius in the reign of the emperor Augustus. The 
Sarmatians, flushed with their recent victories, pushed toward 
the Roman camps, but were repulsed with great slaughter. 
They made also several hostile incursions into the provinces 
lying south of the Danube. Here, again, they were met by 
the Roman legions and driven homeward. Though beaten, at 
every such attempt, by the superior discipline of the imperial 
soldiers, they were not discouraged, but kept up their preda- 
tory practices till the days of Trajan. They compelled Do- 
mitian, the cruel persecutor of the Christians, to pay them an 
annual tribute as a reward for their promised quiet. 

Trajan, whose abilities as a warrior have been immortalized 



36 nUNOARY AND KOSSUTH. 

by the raatcliless style of Pliny, could not brook such an insult 
to the throne he occupied. In a five years' war, in which he 
employed all the resources of the military art, he prosecuted 
his great design of making a final subjugation of the barbarous 
Dacians. By the help of his architect, Apollodorus, he threw 
a mighty bridge over the broad waters of the Danube, and 
marched an invincible army against Decebalus, at that time king 
of these wild Sarmatians. A most violent engagement followed. 
Such was the spirit of the barbarians, that, in the Roman camji, 
there was not linen enough to bind up the cuts and gashes of 
the wounded, nor men enough unemployed to attend to this 
humane duty. Decebalus, however, at last yielded. His palace, 
and his chief city, were destroyed. His army was cut to pieces. 
G-lad to save himself and his former subjects from utter anni- 
hilation, he consented to resign the purple, whereupon Dacia 
became, at the beginning of the second century, a Roman province. 

During a period of one century and a half, the emperors of 
Rome spent large sums of money on this new possession, in 
order to make it a safe bulwark against other barbarians farther 
north and east. Colonies were sent into it. Towers and cities 
were built. Roads were made, and bridges were erected, in 
so substantial a manner, that the ruins of them are frequently 
met with by modern travellers.^ 

At the middle of the third century, a new race of barbarians 
arose in north-eastern Europe, who looked with a lustful eye 
upon this beautiful country, where nature had been lavish 
of her bounties, and which Roman civilization had carried 
to a yet higher pitch of splendor. This new race were the 
Gotones, or Goths, who inhabited the vast plains lying east 

' Paget's Hungary and Transylvania, vol. ii. 35, and many other 
places. Some Roman inscriptions, on Roman tablets, have been 
deciphered. The one at Drenkova, I believe, is the most perfect. 
The ruins of the colonial towns of Romula and Castra Nova are in 
Wallachia, fifteen miles above the junction of the Olt and Danube. 
At this place, also, arc patches of a Roman road. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 37 

of the Vistula and along the shores of the Baltic. For a 
whole century prior to the period of their irruptions, they had 
looked with longing appetites on the wide savannas and grassy 
valleys of the south. Led away and onward by this attraction, 
they had even left their snowy fatherland, and gradually hovered 
along the frontiers of Dacia and Pannonia, and fixed their 
temporary habitations on the northern slope of the Carpathians. 
Not venturing to attack the Roman garrisons, which had been 
scattered all over these important provinces, they had found 
means of crossing the Euxine, and pouring down upon the 
less protected regions of Thrace and Macedonia. They had 
even penetrated the east as far as Asia Minor, where, in spite 
of the imperial armies, they had plundered the wealthiest 
cities, and burnt to the ground the celebrated temple of Diana 
at Ephe'sus. Sweeping backward, they entered Dacia with a 
resistless daring, drove the Roman legions from their strong- 
holds, reduced the garrison at Ulpia Trajani, the provincial 
capital, and held the country against all opposition. The 
emperor Aurelian concluded a treaty with the victors, by 
which he relinquished to them the whole of Dacia, but broke 
down the famous bridge erected by his predecessor, that the 
barbarians might be the more easily x-estrained within their 
acknowledged borders.* 

The reign of the Goths was of brief duration. After spending 
a century and a quarter upon the soil of Dacia, where they had 
been gradually enervated by the easy blessings they enjoyed, 
another nation of barbarians, whose name was as strange as their 
persons were hideous, swarmed in the north-eastern valleys of the 
Carpathians, ready for the fii'st favorable opportunity to make 
their descent. Born on the barren steppes of northern Asia, 
between the snows of Siberia and the silk-growing groves of 
China, their history could be traced backwards for about four- 

* The exact date of the Gothic conquest is A. D. 250. Anthon's 
An. & Med. Gcog. 233. 

4 



38 mJNOARY AND KOSSUTH. 



tccn centuries. Within this space of time, they had established 
an independent empire on their native plains, spread the terror 
of their arms from the shores of the Yellow Sea to the con- 
fines of Europe, frequently attacked and once humbled the 
emperors of China, and erected the largest dominion then 
known to man. At length, however, the policy df the Chinese 
monarchs was too much for them. Their empire fell by the 
undermining influence of bribery and civil wars. A portion 
remained as dutiful subjects of China in their northern homes. 
A portion emigrated southward to the neighbourhood of 
Canton and Sintechou. The more resolute, however, dis- 
daining to be accounted slaves, seized their weapons, and 
undertook a perilous emigration towards the west. Before 
reaching a place of settlement, this horde of adventurers 
divided into two parts, one of which reached the eastern 
banks of the upper Volga, while the other found a more 
agreeable resting-place on the productive prairies of Sogdiana, 
between the Aral and the Caspian. The first division becoming 
wearied with the savage condition of their country, soon took 
up their line of march again, and sought for a milder and more 
generous climate. Having conquered the Alani in their course, 
and swelled their own numbers by the deed, they stood, at the 
moment above mentioned, a vast band of hungry robbers, on 
the extreme border of their last conquest, and looked greedily 
through the mountain passes of the Carpathians upon the 
fertility and beauty of the Dacian valleys. The sight was 
the signal of attack. They rushed through the defiles. Th'^ 
Gothic population were taken by surprise. The victors, under 
the conduct of the brave Kugilas, and afterwards under the still 
braver and more formidable Attila, put the inhabitants to flight, 
took possession of the homes thus bereft, and settled the name 
of Hungary, which they had before fixed upon the regions of 
the upper Volga, on the Dacian and Pannonian plains.^ 

' After a long and laborious examination of the opinions of Gibbon, 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 39 

Toward the close of the ninth century, when the Huns had 
held undisputed possession of their conquest for more than 
five hundred years, their kindred of the Caspian, who, diu-ing 
their long residence in their new country, had taken upon 
themselves the name of Magyars, sent a powerful colony to 
the west in search of a wider and better theatre for the nation. 
Under the influence of a more temperate climate, and by a 
politic mixture of their blood with that of the Caucasian tribes 
about them, they had changed their swarthy complexions to 
a delicate brunette, become taller and more regular in their 
features, put off the barbarous customs and habits of the Tartar, 
and assumed the appearance and manners of the European. 
Ignorant of the fate of their lost companions, nor knowing 
even the route they had taken in their emigration, it is singular 
that they should themselves have followed in nearly the same 
path, and come at last to precisely the same termination. 
They came to the country of their brethren; but their brethren 
were scarcely to be discovered. During their long occupation 
of Dacia and Pannonia, they had undergone many misfortunes, 
by which their power had been completely broken. In the 
first place, they had been distracted and weakened by civil 
wars, excited by chieftain against chieftain in the struggles of 
personal ambition. In the next place, they had been overrun 
by the Abares in the sixth century, and almost conquered by 
several new northern hordes. The Goths, too, who had been 
expelled their country, had met with unlimited success in the 
eastern and western provinces of the Eoman empire, after 
which many of them had returned in triumph to the homes 
they had once abandoned. The want of genius in the Huns 
themselves, however, after the death of their great commander, 
had been the principal cause of their disasters. They had cut 

Milman, Des Guines, Schlozer, Klaproth, and Malte-Brun, respecting 
the genealogy of the Huns, I have been forced to the conclusions 
stated in the text. 



40 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tlieir way to empire by the superior sharpness of their swords; 
but those swords could neither make just laws, nor raise up a 
civilization, by which the power of the conquerors could be 
consolidated and confii-med. Their decay had been almost as 
rapid as their success. When the Magyars crossed the Car- 
pathians, they found a mixed race of people, made up of 
numerous unknown tribes, who came out to dispute the pro- 
gress of the invading hosts. The contest was of short duration. 
After the first few battles, in which the title of Magyar had 
been rendered synonymous , with every martial virtue, the 
business of fighting nearly ceased. Huns, Groths, Sarmatians, 
the entire population of the country, now mixed together under 
the general appellation of Sclaves, fled in wild disorder before 
the foot-steps of this new race of Huns. Some of them, who 
had the means of emigration at command, left their native 
land altogether, and escaped into the north of Italy, or into 
G-ermany and France. The greater part of the inhabitants, 
liowever, who had dwelt in ease upon their fertile prairies, 
flew to the circumjacent mountains, while the invaders settled 
down upon the deserted plains. 

The Magyars, however, were not contented with these easy 
spoils. Leaving a sufficient number in their new home, to 
guard their recently-acquired possessions, they dispatched 
large bodies of soldiers to the west, to the north, and to the 
south, that the circle of their victories might be complete. 
Everywhere they were crowned with the most wonderful 
success. At their approach, armies sent against them would 
throw down their weapons and basely fly ; villages, towns and 
cities would either take up their moveable efi"ects, and abandon 
their fire-sides and homes, or secure their personal safety by 
a submission without reserve j and the people of whole pro- 
vinces, struck with sudden fear, would hastily assemble their 
cattle from the fields and forests, and move in immense masses 
to less exposed positions, leaving their lands and houses to 
their foes. "With a daring never surpassed and seldom equaled, 



HUNGARY ANI> KOSSUTH. 41 

they penetrated to the most densely-populated regions, crossed 
the confines of Germany into Italy and France, reveled in 
blood amidst the snow-fields -of the farther north, and stayed 
their progress only at the base of some absolutely impassable 
mountain range, or on the shore of some unknown sea. In 
this manner, with their central camp on the fertile prairies, 
where their brave descendants yet remain, they overran all 
of eastern and southern Europe, from the Adriatic to the 
Baltic, in an incredibly short space of time.^ 

But, with their rude forms of government, it was impossible 
for them to keep such vast possessions against original owners 
almost as warlike, and quite as savage, as themselves. So 
soon as their various marauding bands returned to the central 
encampment, their distant subjects, conquered only for the 
moment, were as free, as independent, as hostile as before ; and, 
though they were often reconquered, and as frequently punished 
for their rebellions, the conquerors at length became weary of 
their victories, and gradually gave up those remote regions, 
which they found it so difficult to hold. 

Though, on the first arrival of the Magyars, the Sclaves 
were dispersed to the mountains, which nearly surround this 
land, it could not be supposed that they would always find it 
necessary to dwell in those rugged fastnesses, unless their new 
masters should prove infinitely more merciless and short-sighted 
than most conquerors have been. So soon as the fii'st heat 
of passion had found time to cool, the terrified mountaineers 
gradually descended from their barren strong-holds; and their 
children, taking still farther advantage of the clemency of the 
invaders, have ventured to occupy most of the valleys in the 

" The curious reader will find in Sismondi's Literature of the South 

of Europe, vol. i. 35, a Latin poem composed about the year 924, 

"■which was sung," says the elegant historian, " by the Modenese 

soldiers as they guarded their walls against the Hungarians." If 

the music was not better than the poetry, the song must have been 

as formidable to the Magyars as the weapons of the Italians. 

4* 



42 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



immediate vicinity of tliis panoramic mountain range. It could 
not be presumed, however, on the other hand, cither that the 
victorious Magyars would utterly relinquish . the rich and 
central plains to the original inhabitants, or that those inhabi- 
tants would ever cease to look upon their victors with an eye 
of jealousy secretly seeking for revenge. Such is the general 
position, and such are the feelings, of the two principal races 
of Hungarians at this day.'' 

The Magyar, though Tartar in his extraction, had crossed 
his blood so often with the best blood of other nations, that, 
on his arrival in Hungary, he constituted a race by himself, 
quite superior to most other races. In the day of his Asiatic 
glory, when he could stand against the power of imperial 
China, he not only drew from it vast tributes of money and 
silk, but an annual contribution of the fairest of the Chinese 
damsels. These maidens were given in marriage to those 
officers, who, by their high qualities and daring conduct as 
commanders, had merited the favor of the nation. In this 
way, without appreciating the natural result of such a practice, 
the Tartars gradually raised up a new rank altogether above 
the highest classes of the people. When the nation finally 
submitted to the Chinese, it was that portion of the army, in 
all probability, which had not been conquered, that refused 
to yield, but grasped their trusty weapons and traveled west- 
ward. The army, however, was made up of this superior race 
and the common soldiers; and the two grades, when they 
ceased to be held together by the necessities of the militaiy 

' It is a common error to confoimcl the name of Sclaves with that 
of Sclavouians. The mistake should be corrected. Sclave is the 
generic title for the great race of which the Sclavonians, who 
dwell in the provinces of Sclavonia and Croatia, arc only one of its 
several subdivisions. Paget, vol. i. p. 58, has called the attention 
of his readers to this distinction. The Sclavonians areSclaves; but 
the Sclavcs are not necessarily Sclavonians. For other subdivisions, 
see Pulszky's Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady, vol. ii. p. 50. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSTITII. 43 

service, would very naturally seek their fortunes in distinct 
companies. If this were so, that portion of the adventurers, 
who first conquered Hungary, were certainly the lower soldiery. 
The higher, being more particular in their tastes, found fit 
companions in the tribes dwelling in the neighborhood of the 
Caucasus, and consequently settled down among them. As 
their settlement with the Caucasians, however, could not be 
effected without conquering a territory on which to settle, they 
were compelled to assert and prove their superiority OTcr the 
resident inhabitants by force of arms, before any associations 
could be formed between the two races. When this superiority 
had been asserted and maintained, the friendship offered by 
the victorious Tartar would be extended as a condescension; 
and if the Tartar youth, as was most natural, should begin to 
be smitten with Caucasian beauty, which the world has never 
rivaled, their hand would be granted only to the highest 
specimens of female attraction. And if this cause of national 
improvement were in itself sufficient, the time given to it for 
action was certainly ample enough, to work the most radical 
changes. Thus, after intermarrying for several centuries with 
the best families of China, and the mingling and mixing for 
five centuries more with the Caucasians, and in the peculiarly 
fortunate manner here mentioned, the high-minded and inde- 
pendent Tartar had become the higher-minded and more inde- 
pendent Magyar, whose physical, intellectual and moral traits 
rendered him almost a paragon of his species. 

The present aspect of the Magyar is a living confirmation 
of his origin. In support of his Caucasian genealogy, he is 
tall and manly in his bearing, symmetrical in shape, easy, 
clastic, and yet dignified in movement. In the somewhat 
irregular form of his head, and in the lively brunette of his 
speaking face, you behold the traces of his Tartar relationship. 
His hair, too, is generally very dark, his eye piercing and 
black, his countenance grave and full of thought, his speech, 
when not excited, slow, impressive, oriental, grand. When 



44 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

roused, there is a spirit, a power, an impetuosity, in his entire 
person and action, that declare the brilliancy and fervor of his 
mind. He is naturally a genius. "With his quickness of 
perception, his rapidity of thought, his resistless power of will, 
his lofty and aspiring disposition, he could be nothing less. 
His moral sentiments are of the highest order. He is too 
proud to be dishonest, low, or mean. He is governed, at all 
times, by a high sense of what is right and just. As a master, 
he is careful, kind and generous. As a subject, he is fixed, 
resolute, unyielding to what is wrong. If rich, he is profuse 
in his expenses, elevated in his tastes, liberal in his charities. 
If poor, his pride will not suffer him to complain, while his 
general demeanor cannot be distinguished from that of the 
wealthiest baron in the land. In all the relations of domestic 
life, as a husband, father, brother, son, he is unimpeachable 
in his conduct, or follows every aberration with dignified regret. 
His hospitality is unbounded. Whether rich or poor, he receives 
his visitors with joy, and dismisses them with unwillingness. 
In religion, he is sincere, devout, but never contentious or 
fanatical. The liberty which, in all things, he demands for 
himself, he freely acknowledges in all others. Freedom, indeed, 
is the word which concentrates in itself the whole life and 
being of a Magyar. His physical structure, his walk, his 
speech, his modes of thinking, his style of living, all his ways 
and habits, proclaim him a man whose soul cannot be fettered. 
His very clothing, the style of his apparel, shows him to be a 
natural freeman. Dwelling in a climate, where a rather close 
dress is absolutely needed, he disdains, nevertheless, to bind 
up his free limbs in the contemptibly tight fits of other Euro- 
peans. The lower part of his person he condescends to dress 
somewhat in the usual Trench fashion; but his chest, his 
arms, his head, he grants a more ample liberty. His Attila, 
a loose frock coat, with a light military collar, ornamented in 
front with a rich embroidery of gold lace, he wears over his 
shirt of genuine linen. On his feet arc high shoes, or gaiter 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 45 



boots, armed with a silver spur. Over all, when the weather 
calls for it, he throws a more ample coat, or robe, resembling 
a modern cloak, but decidedly more convenient as well as 
ornamental, which is lined with fur and fastened in front by 
a chain of gold. On his head, at all seasons of the year, he 
lays his beautiful kaljmg, or national cap, made of the richest 
fur, from which the white heron's plume, or aigrette, fixed to 
it by a costly brooch, nods gaily to every breeze that blows. 
Such a being, dressed in his cherished uniform, which is never 
complete without a rich sword and belt, and moving in the 
majesty imparted to his action by his mind, may very justly 
claim, as he always has claimed, the particular admiration of 
mankind. 

The peasant, it is true, cannot maintain all this magnificence 
of apparel; but, in every other respect, he is equal to the 
proudest magnate of his race. The material of his dress 
may be plain or coarse ; his hair may hang in loose braids, or 
long flowing locks, upon his shoulders; his broad-brimmed hat 
may throw a shade over a face of rather rustic mold; but, 
after all, the marks of a true Magyar are always visible. 
Somewhere about his person, there will be seen some token 
of his relationship, if he be the poorest countryman in the 
land. Either his trowsers will be embroidered, or his vest 
will be trimmed with lace, or his cap will have some peculiar 
finish, which will distinguish him from every other race of 
men. If, as in the northern districts of his country, he mixes 
too freely with the lower population, he may, as it is certain 
he does, lose a portion of his neatness, of his taste ; yet, even 
there, he can be easily singled out from his associates, by the 
expressiveness of his features and the dignity of his form. 

The shepherd, in Hungary, is below the peasant; but he, 
also, if a genuine Magyar, will not fail to justify his origin by ' 
his bearing, his spirit, and his dress. While standing upon 
the margin of his prairie-pasture, or in the bottom of some 
grassy vale, with his white and shaggy-coated watch-dogs 



46 ' HUNGARY ANB KOSSUTH. 

around him, every attitude and turn of his person indicates 
that he cannot be a slave. There is a dignity in his manners, 
an air of indei^endence in his action, that can never be mis- 
taken, or overlooked. He wears a loose linen shirt, black 
instead of the ordinary white, which descends but a little 
below his breast. His trowsers are of the same color, and 
generally of the same material, unless the weather is severe. 
Over the shirt he has an embroidered waist-coat, or jacket, of 
variegated colors, which covers but does not confine his chest. 
On his feet is a curious kind of boot, made of wool, but soled 
with leather, with the sides cut down and laced in the style 
of gaiters. His head is protected from the hot sun by a hat 
of very ample brim ; and from his neck is svispended a sort of 
bag, in which he carries the dry morsel that constitutes his 
frugal meal. Over all he throws a plain but patriotic imita- 
tion of the national coat, which he calls a hunda, around 
which he wears a belt, or sash. This bunda, coarse as it may 
be, not only serves to keep up the nationality of its owner, 
but furnishes him an opportunity of displaying his magnifi- 
cence, or his taste. If made of nothing better than a sheep- 
skin, with the wool in its natm'al state, the seams show great 
art and beauty of execution, while characteristic scenes of the 
pastoral life, surrounded by a wreath of indigenous flowers, 
are skilfully painted or embroidered upon the arms and back. 
He lives almost a soldier's life. His flock he looks upon as 
his people, whom he is bound not only to feed, but also to 
protect. To do so, he is ready to meet a wolf, or a bear, or 
any other beast, armed, or unarmed, as he may happen to be 
at the moment of attack. Sometimes he is called upon to 
defend his woolly tribe against more formidable antagonists; 
but the wandering robber, who attempts depredations, will 
learn, before he completes his theft, that a Magyar, though in 
the lowest phase in which a Magyar is ever seen, is a warrior, 
and generally a victor, by virt ue of his blood.^ 

' Paget's Hungary and Transylvania, vol. i. 291. 



IIUNGAUY AND KOSSUTH. 47 

The real soldier, however, among this remarkable people, 
is the beau-ideal of their life. It is so not because they are 
irascible, or quarrelsome, or- covetous, as a nation. They are 
not even quick to resent an injury. They will suffer any 
amount of oppression, so far as it relates to business, without 
manifesting much concern upon the subject. Their honor, 
however, their nationality, their ancestral rights and customs, 
they watch with jealous determination. Touch the person, 
or the reputation, or the sacred liberties of a Magyar, and 
you rouse him. Then he is seen to best advantage. His 
proud horse is always ready to be mounted. His rich uniform 
hangs always in his hall equally submissive to the moment. 
Buckling upon himself the one, and throwing himself astride 
the other, he is at once the handsomest and the bravest trooper 
of all countries.^ 

The highest physical perfection of a race, so far at least as 
symmetry and beauty are concerned, is always exhibited, how- 
ever, in the female sex. Woman is ever more beautiful than 
man ; but, in no country, where the male is himself so supe- 
rior, is there so great a pre-eminence of feminine grace and 
loveliness, as in the country of the Huns. Southern Europe 
has been celebrated, by many grave philosophers, and by all 
the poets, for the unrivaled charms of its Mv inhabitants. 
In Spain, the wandering Troubadour ; in France, the passionate 
Trouvere; in G-ermany, the profound but susceptible Minne- 
singer, have risen up in successive schools to assert the claim 
of superiority for their respective lands. Modern writers 
have generally given to the Georgian and Circassian beauties 

° The reader is t)f course aware, that the hussar, the most splendid 
of all the military companies of modern nations, is only the imita- 
tion of the regular Hungarian cavalry. His uniform consists of 
breeches with stockings buttoned to them, a doublet, a pair of red 
or yellow boots, and a high cap with a plume of different colors. 
His arms are a sabre, a carbine, and pistols. He is the most perfect 
horseman in the world. 



48 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



the contested palm. Hungary, however, has been a sealed 
country, almost from the beginning of its history, to the judges 
of female beauty throughout the world. It is now revealed; 
and the elegant debate is closed. Neither the dark-eyed 
daughters of Castile and Arragon, nor the blue-eyed beauties 
of Languedoc, nor the auburn-haired belles of the Suabian or 
Bavarian line, can vie with the maidens of the Magyar land. 
The country of the Caucasus itself, where the most perfect 
of the human races was produced, and where the Turk still 
finds the fairest of his concubines and slaves, must yield. 
The Magyar heauti/, with as fine a complexion as any G-eorgian 
or Circassian, tinged though it slightly is with the lively brown 
of her oriental birth, has an expression not easily to be matched. 
Hers is not the face of a mere physical beauty destitute of 
thought. There is a soul beaming through every feature. 
Her eyes and hair are dark. Her head is of the most finished 
mold. Her lips are thin and delicately formed. Her chin 
is light, or moderate in size, indicative of the acknowledged 
elegance of her mind. Her cheeks are round and full, but 
not massive, with that native dimple which always adds such a 
peculiar sweetness to the fair. Her figure is symmetry itself 
Tall and slender, her movement is exceedingly easy and digni- 
fied, though, in a moment of excitement, her action becomes 
at once expressive of the quick and powerful emotion of her 
heart. In conversation, she is rather grave, her words are 
well chosen, her reach of thought is elevated, her feelings are 
earnest and sincere. She is not inclined to laugh. Her soul 
is too deep for laughter ; but there is a remarkable power and 
significance in her smile. Her national dress, though not 
worn in every-day life, but reserved for suitable occasions, is 
tasteful, elegant, and rich. Her bust is exhibited in a tight 
bodice, laced in front by pearl-covered bands, from the lower 
fringe of which falls an ample skirt of velvet or brocade, ter- 
minating in a flowing train. The head is bare, with its dark 
lock.s, braided and set oil with pearls, while the neck, arms 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 49 

and waist are radiant with jewels, as if sparkling with so many 
stars. If the Magyar maidens seldom realize, either in form 
or style, the full perfection -of this ideal of their race, there is 
a decided tendency toward it in them all.^° 

The Sclave is a very inferior character to the genuine Mag- 
yar. How far we are to regard him as the representative of 
all the peoples, who have inhabited Hungary from the earliest 
times, having the mingled blood of the Cimmerian, the Scythian, 
the Goth and the Tartar in his veins, it is not easy precisely 
to determine. It is extremely probable, however, that, in 
the successive expulsions undergone by these various tribes, 
the country was never entirely cleared of any one of them ; 
and, consequently, the one now known as the Sclavic, which 
certainly differs to some extent from the same tribe as seen in 
Russia and other parts of Europe, may have received as many 
modifications as there have been immigrations to the country 
where they dwell. One thing, nevertheless, is certain. To 
whatever extent this mixture of bloods may have been carried 
in their case, they have not derived the physical and mental 
advantages from it, which the science of physiology would 
lead us to expect. However indolent may have been the 
slumbering Cimmerian, we should presume, from what ex- 
perience has taught the world, that, by the time the spirit and 
fierceness of the other barbaric nations had been thus infused 
into his natural temperament, he would have risen above the 
slow, heavy, stupid Sclave, who now inhabits the mountain 
border of this country.. No race of people were ever so entirely 
mean. Their very name has been adopted in all languages, 
as the word of the greatest possible contempt, since there is 
no worse reproach than to call a man a slave. 

The Sclave, however, cannot be fully described by any 
general epithets, however just the epithets may be, as he 

'• The costume of the Hungarian lady is given by Paget, vol. iu 
p. 2G5. Her beauty is celebrated by all travelers. 



50 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

differs, not only in his personal traits, but also in his pro- 
vincial title, in the different sections where he makes his resi- 
dence. The largest division of this great family are denomi- 
nated SclavackS; who are found in the barren mountains lying 
in the north and west of Hungary. They are a poor, illiterate, 
filthy, degraded race, without sense enough to appreciate their 
position, or spirit enough to attempt any self-improvement, 
could they realize their want. Their persons are of middling 
size and hight, with very broad shoulders, coarse features, and 
ill-shaped heads, which are rendered still more ugly by a 
covering of long, shaggy, flaxen hair. Their clothing is as 
unclean, as irregular, as uncomely as their persons. Their 
houses are constructed of unhewn logs, laid up in quad- 
rangular piles, with the interstices closed with mud. One 
end of their cabin, not always separated from the remainder 
by a partition, is devoted to the larger cattle; while the 
smaller ones, such as pigs and goats, are allowed to hold a 
more particular intimacy, in every part, with its human occu- 
pants. Drunkenness is a prevailing vice; and, as in other 
countries, it brings with it nearly all the other vices. 

The Sclavonians, another branch of the great family of 
Sclaves, occupy a couple of provinces of their own, which, 
however, have been, since the eleventh century, an integral 
part of Hungary. Sclavonia and Croatia, the provinces re- 
ferred to, are always spoken of together, because their popu- 
lation is homogeneous, and their fortunes have been united. 
The people are not only very small in statui-e, but miserable 
in aspect, wearing apparel still coarser than that of their 
Sclavack brethren, and presenting every indication of poverty 
and misery. 

The Serbs, though slightly more elevated than the two pre- 
ceding branches of the great Sclavic race, are still Serbs, or 
Serfs, which, from the natural history of the word, can be 
nothing else than slaves. The term, a corruption of the Latin 
serviis, or servant, has been justly applied to them, evex since 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 51 

they have been known to Europe, as a mark of their servility 
and meanness. It is the Italian synonym for the German 
sclave ; and never was a general appellation more character- 
istically affixed. They are the last remnant of a horde of 
Sarmatians, who, like the conquered Britons, retired in a body 
from the scene of conquest, and settled in that fertile but 
uncultivated tract of country around the confluence of the four 
great rivers of the land. A large accession was made to them, 
so late as the second half of the seventeenth century, from a 
larger body of their tribe in Turkey. Though now quite nume- 
rous, they are extremely low, poor, and wretched, but little 
more refined than the best of our own savage tribes. Under 
the various sub-cognomens of Servi, Illyri, and Easciani, or 
Raczes, they are always the same ignorant, indolent, degraded 
beings so graphically described by the name of Serbs. Both 
Servia, and the Serbian portions of tho Banat, are sufficient 
demonstrations of the character of the generations which suc- 
cessively vegetate and rot upon their soil. 

The Wallack, who is fastened to the fiefs of Transylvania, 
boasts of a descent from the Romans of the imperial times. 
He claims to have remained in the country after the Goths 
bad taken possession of it and the larger portion of the Roman 
colonies had retired. His claim, however, can be only par- 
tially admitted, as his physical and mental traits indicate as 
much of Sarmatian as of Roman blood. Whatever be his 
genealogy, indeed, his abject condition can not be misunder- 
stood. Not only in appearance, or in title, but in fact, he has 
always been a slave. While the Sclavonian himself, insignifi- 
cant as he is, has received an acknowledgement of his freedom, 
and talks loudly about a nationality, the Wallack, until very 
recently, has never aspired to a personal recognition by the 
government, or dreamed of being free. Bound to the soil on 
which he lives, as much as the rude hut in which he dwells, 
he seems to have confessed his inferiority with a stupid 



52 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

willingness, which notliing but an actual and essential servility 
and barrenness of spirit could Lave brought about. 

In Transylvania, also, are found the Szelders, a singular 
race of people, who profess to be the descendants of the Attilan 
Huns. They were found in the country by the Magyars, 
living where they now live, and, from their physical aspect, 
language, customs and style of dress, were recognised, or at 
least acknowledged, as kindred of the conquering tribe. They 
were at once adopted as free citizens, and in return for this 
distinction, they bound themselves and their posterity for ever 
to guard and defend the eastern section of the Hungarian 
frontier. Darker in countenance than their Magyar brethren, 
as well as smaller in stature and less symmetrical in shape, 
they are evidently below them in a physical point of view ; 
and their intellectual character, though decidedly more ele- 
vated than that of the Sclavic tribes, and possessing many 
interesting features, shows just brilliancy and power enough 
to justify their relationship to the dominant people of the land. 
Their moral character, however, entitles them to great respect. 
Like the Magyars themselves, they have a high sense of honor, 
which would carry one of them to the dungeon, or to death, 
rather than to break his word. In all the troubles of Hungary, 
since the final conquest of it, they have been generally true to 
their plighted faith; and^ when any lack of zeal on their part 
has occurred toward their kinsmen and benefactors, it has 
arisen more from some misunderstanding of their duty, than 
from ungenerous design. It would seem, indeed, that, though 
their bodies and minds have not been improved by any mixture 
with more gifted nations, as their brethren have been, the 
common and inalienable characteristic of both races is a great 
honesty of purpose, which, without other qualities, will always 
secure the good opinion of mankind. 

The Magyars, Sclavacks, Sclavonians, Serbs, Wallacks and 
Szeklers are to be considered as the native tribes of Hungary. 
There are others, however, whose presence in the country has 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 53 

been brought about by various causes, and whose character 
and condition must be described. 

Bordered on the west and north-west by Germany, and 
having been connected with it politically for more than three 
hundred years, Hungary has received from it many accessions 
to her population at different times. In the north of Hungary, 
but particularly in Transylvania, are the settlements of the 
Saxons, who were first invited into the land in the twelfth 
century, while Bela the Blind was king. His widow, the 
princess Helena, extended the invitation the second time, when 
large immigrations took place. Those settling in Transylvania 
were erected into a distinct municipality by Andreas the 
Second, who permitted them to elect their own magistrates, to 
make their own private laws, to choose and support their own 
clergymen, to trade throughout the country without the pay- 
ment of any tax, and to cut their wood and pastm-e their cattle 
on lands belonging to other tribes. Such privileges could not 
fail to give them prosperity in business. They have conse- 
quently thrived. They are the best farmers in Hungary; but, 
in every other respect, they are immeasurably inferior to the 
Magyars. In physical appearance, they are coarse, clumsy, 
ill-made beings, with gray and greedy-looking eyes, with large 
but irregular and heavy heads covered with flaxen hair, and 
with every other mark of stupidity common to such a race. 
They have not the first indication of delicacy about them. 
They aspire to nothing better than the animal, or brutish, life. 
Their women, even, have not the slightest token of refinement 
in their habits, or in their dress. Like the men, they live and 
labor in the field, spending their whole time in the coarsest 
employments of the farm. If found in the Hungarian cities, 
as these Saxons and other Germans often are, their aspect and 
style of life is equally disgusting. The males go about with 
their dirty pipe-bowls hanging a foot below their mouths. The 
females walk the streets with large burdens upon their heads. 
Their dwellings are uncouth, filthy, devoid of every degree of 

5* 



54 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



taste, while their occupants pass an existence more like cattle 
than like men. 

Among the alien population, in spite of their long residence 
in the country, must be ranked the sons of Abraham according 
to the flesh. As is their custom everywhere, they make their 
residence almost wholly in the towns, and gain their livelihoad 
by their ordinary methods of taking usury and selling jewelry 
and clothes; and many a Shylock among them has amassed 
his millions, though living among his enemies, and in spite of 
oppressions scarcely to be paralleled even in the bloody annals 
of his race. Their fortunes have been extremely checkered 
in this unhappy land. They were settled in the country, in 
large numbers, when it was first conquered by the Huns. At 
one time they have prospered to such a degree that they held 
the Magyars themselves in a state of financial bondage, go- 
verned all the monetary interests of the nation, and claimed 
to have mortgages upon many of the crown-lands as security 
for large sums of lent money, which the impoverished or needy 
monarchs found it impossible or inconvenient to restore. At 
another time they have been expelled by public edict from 
their possessions, stripped of their natural and civil rights, and 
banished from their firesides and homes. Still, after every 
calamity, here they are at the present day, plying their two 
trades with unflinching avarice, with sordid energy, and with 
that insanity of submission, under every vicissitude, which has 
always marked them out as the devoted, if not self-conscious, 
children of the second curse. Their condition has ever been, and 
is now, precarious. Their character need not be described. It 
is enough to say, that, in Hungary as elsewhere, they never fail 
to follow the richest promises, or yield to the heaviest bribes.^* 

" Miss Pardoe, who traveled in Hungary in 1839, gives a lively 
description of the past oppressions and present condition of the Jews. 
City of the Magyar, vol. iii. p. 297. She also states, that, at a recent 
period, Baron Sina was the creditor of all the nobles of the land. 
Vol. ii. p. 289. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 55 

Next to the Magyars in interest, but decidedly the lowest 
and most wretched of all the people, are the Zigeuners, or 
Hungarian gipsies, whose -origin is entirely unknown. They 
have been the subject of a great deal of ingenious speculation ; 
but neither their physical structure, their color, their customs, 
or their language, has been enough to unravel the mystery in 
which their genealogy is involved. Nothing can exceed the 
wretchedness in which they live. The men are slightly 
covered by a single garment of the coarsest kind of cloth. 
The women are vailed, rather than clothed, in rags. Their 
children are not clothed at all. They have no fixed habita- 
tions, but wander over all the country, begging where they 
are allowed to beg, and stealing where they can. Their stature 
is low, their size is small; and the color of their skin, which 
is nearly black, separates them entirely from every branch of 
the Caucasian race. They have dark glossy hair, very black 
and brilliant eyes, and teeth as white as ivory itself. In form 
they are rather graceful, particularly their young women, who 
walk with a quick, tripping, elastic step, and show their spirit 
by the restlessness of their feet, hands and eyes. They live 
in communities, following the instincts of nature, rather than 
the dictates of reason, or the regulations of the land. No 
woman knows her husband. No husband knows his wife. 
The children are regarded as the common property of the 
tribe. The relation of father, as well as that of brother and 
sister, excepting on the mother's side, are utterly unknown. 
They have no dwellings, or lands, or property of any kind, 
excepting their instruments of music, a few tools of their 
tinkering craft, and the rude vessels in which they cook their 
food. Sometimes a colony of them will fix their abode on the 
confines of a town, or village, where they will remain for 
months, rarely for a whole year, after which they will sud- 
denly decamp without giving the slightest notice of their in- 
tentions to the inhabitants among whom they dwell. Their 
occupation is restricted to a little black -smithing, to the manu- 



56 nUNGAKY AND KOSSUTH. 

facture of certain trinkets, and to the use of musical instru- 
ments. In music they decidedly escel. Their ear is acute, 
their taste is very fair; and they are consequently employed 
as musicians at every festal occasion throughout the land. No 
political meeting can be held, no young man can marry, 
scarcely can a child be born, without the help of the Zigeuner 
bands. When young, the Hungarian gipsies are often comely, 
if not beautiful; but, such is the filth in which they dwell, 
they become exceeding ugly and disgusting toward the close 
of life. They are not all as degraded, however, as they are 
here described. There is a wide difference of social character 
and position among them. Young men of enviable parts, par- 
ticularly in their favorite profession of music, have been dis- 
covered by travelers in their most miserable colonies ; while 
the maidens are occasionally not only pretty, but intellectual, 
considerably refined in their manners, and really good, virtuoiis 
and benevolent at heart. Such a one, if she sees a wayfarer 
in difficulty, will become almost a heroine in his behalf. She 
will leave her menial occupation, in whatever place she may 
be employed, leap over a fence to the public road, salute her 
protege with kindness, mount to the top of his carriage by a. 
single bound, and never leave him till he is wholly extricated 
from his embarrassment, or distress. In all respects, in their 
traits of character, not less than in their genealogy, the Zigeu- 
ners of Hungary are a mystery, which it would be interesting 
to investigate and useful to resolve.*^ 

The total population of the country of the Magyars amounts 

" The example here presented is not an imaginary one. Precisely- 
such a case of heroism occurred to Paget. Hung, and Trans, vol. ii. 
p. 99. The beautiful and beneficent Lila ! The traveler discusses 
the gipsy question more at large in another place, vol. ii. p. 150. 
See also City of the Magyar, vol. i. p. 1G7, and Pulszky's Mem. Hung. 
Lady, vol. i. p. 48. Madame Pulszky thinks the Zigeuners are out- 
casts from India, who were expelled by Tamerlane in his celebrated 
wars ; but they were in Hungary many centuries before that period. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 57 

to little less than fifteen millions. This sum has never been 
distributed, with any degree of accuracy, to the different races. 
The Magyars may have about five millions; the Sclavacks, 
two millions; the Sclavonians, including the Croatians, two 
millions; the Serbs, one million and a half; the Wallacks, 
one million; the Szeklers, one million; the Saxons, and other 
Germans, including Moravian and Bavarian Sclavacks, one 
million and a half; the Jews, half a million ; and the gipsies, 
one hundred thousand." 

It will be seen, therefore, that the Magyars, though not so 
numerous as all the other races, are more than twice the 
number of any one of them. The superiority, which they 
have always maintained, and ever must maintain, is based 
entirely upon their character; for, if we except the Szeklers, 
their distant kindred, together with certain portions of the 
Germans, one genuine Magyar has more of the manly and 
ruling elements of humanity, than ten of the remaining people. 
In one of the Southern States of our own great Union, the 
black Sdaves of America are to the dominant population as 
four to one. In Hungary, the ratio between the ruled and 
the ruling is only two to one ; while there is nearly as great a 
difference, in every thing but color, between the Magyar and 
the majority of his countrymen, with the exception above 
stated, as between the American and the negro. The African 
as often rises above the general level of his race, in this country, 
as does the Sclavack, the Sclavonian, or the Serb in the country 
of the Magyar. 



" McCulloch, who follows Paget, makes a lower estimate, setting 
down the whole population at about ten millions ; but Kossuth, in 
the Declaration of Independence and other official documents, declares 
it to be full fifteen millions. With his statement I have compared 
many authorities, mostly written, but some verbal ; and I have come 
to the conclusions above stated. We shall never know the truth 
exactly till Austria shall dare to take a correct census of her people. 



58 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTEK III. 

THE RELIGIONS OP HUNGARY. 

IIELIGION, after making every allowance for the bard- 
heartedness and infidelity of mankind, is the most powerful 
and the most universal element of the social state. Though 
the greatest number of individuals appear to live by sight, 
rather than by faith, yet, in all nations and ages, the majority 
have had their various ways of closing their eyes upon this 
state of being, and of opening them, with more or less clear- 
ness, upon another. They have been willing, too, not only 
to undergo a considerable degxee of self-denial in the practice 
of their faith, but absolute losses, deprivations, and sufferings 
in the defence of it. 

The wars of the earliest nations, so far as we can now judge 
from their scanty annals, were chiefly religious wars, in which 
the gods of the conflicting nations were understood to have 
acted a conspicuous part, and to have taken a profound interest. 
It was not only the object but the fortune of the Babylonians, 
Persians and Greeks, in their successive and successful struggles 
after universal empire, to spread their several systems of the- 
ology over the length and breadth of their world-wide con- 
quests. The hostilities waged by the Egyptians against the 
Hebrews, and by the Hebrews against the nations of Canaan, 
were also entirely theological in their character. The breaking 
up of the oriental countries, first by Confucius, and afterwards 
by Grenghis and Tamerlane, was occasioned by the same species 
of contention. Mahomet, in his sweeping and devastating- 
marches over a third part of the globe, professed to be only 
the herald of a new religion, the prophet of his Grod. The 
establishment of the Roman empire is almost a solitary ex- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 59 

ception, in the history of ancient countries, to the rule now 
alluded to; and even this universal government, though founded 
from secular and civil motives by the use of merely military 
instrumentalities; was at last subverted by religious partizans 
and parties. 

Nothing, indeed, is considered by a man so vital to his present 
and future welfare as his system of divine worship; there is 
nothing which a man takes a greater interest in extending; 
and there is certainly nothing for which he will make greater 
sacrifices, while in successful practice, or for which he will 
brave more dangers, when it happens to be threatened with 
disasters. To defend his faith, Socrates will die in prison; 
and, with an increased ardor in proportion to the superior 
value of his profession, the Christian martyr will defy the 
dungeon and the rack, and even embrace death with the smile 
of triumph. 

These things being so, it is not strange, that, in Hungary 
as everywhere, the religions successively professed by its in- 
habitants have been, almost from the beginning, numbered 
among the causes of its revolutions; that, in all ages of its 
existence, they have formed important constituents of the 
national politics; and that, at this moment, it is absolutely 
impossible to present, or to understand, the theory of its recent 
effort to regain its liberties and independence, without some 
exposition, however brief, of its religious history and condition. 

Since the first general apostacy of mankind from the re- 
vealed but originally unwritten will of Grod, paganism, under 
a great variety of phases, has been the primary religion of 
every land. It is probable, from the little that is told of the 
first inhabitants of Hungary, by Herodotus and two or three 
other classic authors, that the Cimmerians, like their neighbors 
of Thrace, adhered to that original and simple form of pan- 
theism, so beautiful and yet so fanciful, which, from the 
foundation of the eastern nations to the days of Thales and 
Pythagoras, reigned over the greater part of the oriental world. 



60 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH, 

The visible universe was their God. The one was all; and 
all was one. They had no idea of a supreme Being, or all- 
pervading and omniiDresent Spirit, distinct from matter and its 
attributes. Nature, according to this system of religion, was 
a living animal, vast, almighty, uncreated and eternal. The 
entire sum of existence was its body ; the east and west points 
of the horizon were its horns; its eyes, which alternated the 
duties of universal inspection, were the sun and the moon ; the 
winds were its wings; and on its head sat the canopy, like a 
glorious crown, ribboned with rain-bows and inlaid with stars. 
This was the religion, if it may be so called, of the slumbering 
Cimmerians, who passed a dreamy and speculative life amidst 
the mountain-shadows of their beautiful, fertile, and quiet 
land.i 

Polytheism, the child of this early pantheism, more and 
more puzzled with the immensity, variety and intricacy of 
material nature, gradually dropped the idea of a unity in this 
vast and manifold totality, and began to pay divine honors to 
the sun, moon, and stars, and to the different parts of the 
world we inhabit. The progress of astronomy, which brought 
to light, from time to time, marks of a seeming independence 
of one heavenly body upon another, because the motions of 
those bodies were not comprehended, contributed greatly to 
the transformation of the pantheistic imaginings into polytheism. 
Before the Scythians had made their settlements in Dacia and 
Pannonia, the change had completely taken place. All the 
tribes inhabiting the country, between the fall of the Cim- 
merians and the coming of the Magyars, were worshipers of 
many gods. Their theology, it is true, was not as complicated 

' In the reputed works of Orpheus there is a fragment, strikingly- 
poetical, which gives the most ingenious and beautiful exposition of 
this original pantheism ever written. To the Cimmerians I have 
applied only so much of the passage as seems to belong to them. 
They were not as cultivated as the Thracians. Orphica, p. 138. 
Leipsic edition. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 61 

and perfect as that of their Roman and Greek neighbors ; but 
it was less so merely because they were themselves less civilized, 
if not by nature less intelkctual. There was a very great 
simplicity in their worship. They paid religious homage, 
indeed, to all natural objects; whether of the heavenly regions, 
or of the earth ; out their ceremonies were extremely brief, 
though beautiful. A low bow of respect and of entreaty to 
the rising sun, or a look of gratitude toward his setting beams, 
or a glance of joy at the virgin brightness of the star of 
evening, or a wider and weightier consideration of the countless 
splendors of the night, were portions of their religious service. 
The plain, the river, the hill, the forest, every earthly object 
from which they derived advantage, received a peculiar token 
of their thankfulness. These, however, were but the immediate 
agents, by whose instrumentality the thousand benefits of life 
were conferred upon the worshipers. The original causes 
of these blessings were out of sight. Indeed, these early 
pagans, no less than the most enlightened and thoughtful 
Christians, who have lived under happier circumstances, saw 
clearly that the earth, with all its variety of powers, received 
its light, and warmth, and productiveness from sources entirely 
beyond itself. These sources were gods ; they were gods with 
the faculties of men; and hence they were adored in human- 
like images of wood, of metal, and of stone. 

The Magyars brought a new religion to this interesting 
land. Like most of the off-shoots of that vast people, which 
have dwelt so long on the Pacific shores of Asia, they were 
monotheists, paying no religious veneration to any being but 
their one almighty, omniscient and eternal God. Their altars 
were erected on the loftiest hills, or in the shade of remote 
forests, or within the precincts of neighboring groves. White 
horses were their choicest sacrifices. The name of their Great 
Spirit was Isten, a word of kindred origin, probably, with the 
Persian Izdan, or Izana, from whose beneficence they imagined 

all human blessings to be derived. They rendered a sort of 

6 



02 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

grateful respect, not amounting to the lowest style of worship, 
however, to the earth, to the air, to water, and to fire, as the 
chief ministers of the Supreme Being, but especially to the 
sun as the principal messenger of his blessings. 

The idea of an evil spirit, the author of sin, the source of 
all temptations to what is bad, they designated by the Persic 
name of Armany, which, in that language, is the word for 
intrigue. The diabolus, or devil, of Christian nations, from 
the title given him, is known as the opposer, or antagonist, 
of our nature in its upright condition, who performs his 
work by an open declaration of hostility. The Armany of 
the Hungarians, like the Ahriman of the Persians, whose 
Magyar cognomen was Urdung, or Ordog, was a wily spirit, 
who prosecuted his wicked purposes by guile. 

They believed in the immortality of the soul, and, like all 
the oriental nations, indulged in glowing pictures of the future 
and better life. They buried their dead by the side of navi- 
gable rivers, rather than in the country, as if the passage of the 
departed would thereby be facilitated to the spirit-land. No 
mournful processions followed a deceased Magyar to his grave ; 
but his relatives and friends spread their most sumptuous 
banquet over his buried body; and they sang over it their 
most cheerful melodies, as if the event were not one of sorrow, 
but of joy. 

Nothing, however, was held more sacred by the Hungarians, 
than an oath. They surrounded it with every ceremony, and 
association, calculated to awaken awe. The perjurer was 
regarded as the perpetrator of the most daring and abomina- 
ble of crimes. When about to take the oath, on a solemn 
occasion, they were accustomed to open a vein in one arm of 
each of the contracting parties, and let the blood flow out into 
a common vessel. From this vessel each of the contractors 
drank in turn till it was quite empty, and, at the same time, 
and in the same words, pronounced a heavy cui-se on him who 
should break the pact. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 63 

The priests of this religion, called magi, or soothsayers, 
were the counselors of the magistrates, as well as the poets, 
physicians and philosophers of the people. ''In their festi- 
vals, and at the sacrifices, they sang heroic songs, which they 
accompanied by the lyre, in order to awaken in the people 
the love of glory, to pour strength and fortitude into the 
savage breast, or to melt them to gentler feelings. The 
people showed them unlimited esteem, but, nevertheless, 
would not allow them to violate or abridge the liberties of 
the nation, as the priesthood had done with many other 
oriental countries. "- 

When St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary, and the first 
princely convert from the religion of his fathers to the Christian 
faith, undertook, in the year 1000, to bring his nation into his 
new way of worship, he found it no easy task. Those in the 
habit of reasoning contended, that their ancestral belief was 
as sound, as rational, as useful as the one proposed; that, 
while both systems were monotheisms, partaking of the same 
general character, and based on the same fundamental princi- 
ples, the new one was more complicated, more speculative, 
requiring faith to supply the deficiency of demonstration; and 
that the people professing it, though more contentious and 
uncharitable about their dogmas, were not at all more moral, 
more honorable, or more religious, than themselves. They 
quoted, as a proof of the political value of their religion, the 
energy, the good fortune, the unbroken prosperity of their 
fathers. They considered the proposed change as an apostasy, 

^ Horvath, Gesliiclite der Ungarn, Part First, sec. ii. § 4. From 
this ■work, translated from the original Magyar into German, and 
recently published at the city of Pesth, I have taken this sketch 
of the Hungarian national religion. The work will be of still 
greater use in some of the succeeding chapters of this volume. 
Written long after the publication of the great work of Fessler, it has 
corrected many of the errors of that well-known historian, and is now 
the standard history of Hungary with the Hungarians themselves. 



G4 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

committed in cold blood, from the faith of the Magyar nation, 
involving a total renunciation of their sainted dead. The 
■whole population clung with filial fondness to the venerable 
worship handed down to them from the remotest ages. They 
openly resisted the authority, as they had argued against the 
example, of their respected sovereign. "When pushed to ex- 
tremities, they seized their trusty weapons, fled to the rude 
groves of their ancestors, and resolved to die in defence of the 
old religion, mingling their heroic blood with the ashes of the 
departed. 

But the character, rather than the military forces, of their 
monarch finally prevailed against them. By nature a most 
upright and well-meaning man, in his life a paragon of every 
thing good and great, and his kingly heart beating with the 
pulsations of patriotism itself, his person was revered, his 
example was contagious, his word was clothed with almost the 
authority of law. He succored the missionaries sent to him 
from the See of Rome. He scattered them over all the 
country, gave them his royal seal and signature as a gua- 
rantee of their safety, and supported their influence and minis- 
istrations by all the prerogatives of his throne. Some of these 
apostles being learned, many of them eloquent, and all of them 
ingenious in their business, they at length prevailed in per- 
suading the masses of the people to follow the footsteps of 
their beloved monarch; and the few nobles, who still per- 
sisted in their opposition, and seemed determined to rise or 
fall in battle, were met and humbled. The king was perfectly 
triumphant; and the banner of the cross was at once seen 
streaming upon the Hungarian breezes.^ 

From the eleventh to the sixteenth century, Christianity, as 



" The last battle fought hj Stephen against the rebellious nobles 
was to put down what is called, in Hungarian history, the conspiracy 
of Kupa. It was severe, bloody, protracted, but decisive. Horvath, 
Oeschichte der Ungarn, Part Second, cap. i. sec. i. p. 31. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 65 

held by the Roman Catholics, was the religion of the Magyars; 
but a long time before the days of Stephen, before even the 
settlement of the Hungarians in this country, its Sclavic in- 
habitants had made marked approaches toward the doctrines 
and discipline of the Greeks. Charlemagne had made gi-eat 
exertions to introduce to its population the faith of Christ; 
and the conversion of the Moesians, Bulgarians, Moravians, 
Bohemians, and other Sclavic tribes, about the middle of the 
ninth century, had almost surrounded the Sclaves of Hungary 
with their kindred, who had submitted to the authority of the 
cross. Under the reign of the Greek emperor, Basilius, the 
inhabitants of Sclavonia and Dalmatia, jointly with the 
Arentanians, sent a solemn and public deputation to Con- 
stantinople, offering to renounce the rites and ceremonies of 
their pagan ancestors, if the Grecian patriarch would grant 
them teachers to instruct them in the truth. The overture 
was readily and joyfully accepted; Christian laborers were 
dispatched immediately to the fields thus providentially opened 
to the gospel; and, almost instantaneously, all the provinces 
of Lower Hungary, then inhabited almost entirely by Sclaves, 
were received into the pale of the Greek Church. The con- 
version of the Russians, toward the close of this century, com- 
pleted the work which had been so promisingly begun. 
Nearly all the Sclaves in Europe, from the Baltic to the 
Bosphorus, from the valleys of Bohemia to the shores of the 
Euxine, were thus turned from paganism to a profession of 
Christianity, and, in company with the Wallachians, whose 
conversion happened about the same period, added to the 
communion of the Independent Greeks.* 

But the schism of the Greek and Roman Catholics, which 
began in the fifth century and became settled at the over- 
throw of Constantinople by the Turks, not only sundered the 
Christian world into two grand communities, but raised up 



Mosli. Eccl. Hist. Pros. Ev., 9th and 10th centuries. 
6* 



GG HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

a third party, possessed of no little strength. The Koman 
patriarchs, or popes, though legally recognised as the nominal 
head of Christendom, could not afford to lose the material 
support of all those rich and splendid countries, which, upon 
the division of the empire, had been acknowledged as de- 
pendencies of the eastern branch. The Greek patriarchs, on 
the other hand, failing to maintain their claim of equality 
with the Koman, and prompted to peaceful measures by 
several of the emperors, were constrained to offer and to accept, 
at different times, proposals for the reunion of the eastern 
and western divisions of the Church. As often, however, as 
these schemes were brought forward and subscribed by the 
high contracting parties, the body of the G-reek clergy, sup- 
ported by a majority of their communicants, would resist them 
with their might. Many large societies, nevertheless, scattered 
all over eastern Europe, served by a peace-loving or timid race 
of pastors, not only sustained these attempts at union, but, 
when the attempts proved unsuccessful, adhered perseveringly 
to their principles, and individually connected themselves with 
the Roman Church. They were not required to abjure any 
of their peculiar ceremonies or doctrines. They still adhered 
to the canons of their eight general councils. They still 
anointed the sick, as well as the dying, with extreme unction. 
They still immersed their converts, in the name of the holy 
Trinity, three times in water. They still offered both ele- 
ments of the communion, mixed in a golden or silver spoon, 
to the faithful and devout membership. They still permitted 
their clergymen to marry virgins and rear their own house- 
holds; and, it may be as truly added, they still fostered as 
real an enmity toward the peculiar heresies of their Roman 
brethren, as they probably would have done in a perfectly 
separate and independent state. With all their professions of 
peace, followed by a secret and bitter jealousy of the power 
and splendor of both tkeir former and latter friends, they are 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 67 

known in Hungary, as in other countries, under the deceptive 
title of United Greeks. 

The wi'itings of Martin Luther carried the doctrines of the 
Reformation into Hungary. His character was exactly suited 
to captivate the IMagyars. They looked with admiration upon 
his boldness, energy, and spirit. Though a pious and learned 
divine, there was something martial in him, which the Hun- 
garians knew how to appreciate. His love of liberty, how- 
ever, was the trait most attractive to them. He had his 
own ideas. He delivered them openly and freely. He would 
deliver them in spite of all men. All the rank Catholics of 
his city and vicinity combined against him ; but he ceased not 
a moment in fear of the combination. The rulers of the 
church threatened him with an ecclesiastical prosecution; 
but he heeded not their threatenings. The head of the 
church fulminated a decree of excommunication against him; 
but he burnt the decree to ashes in the presence of his ene- 
mies. The emperor himself, who reigned over the largest 
and most powerful dominion of modern ages, summoned the 
reformer to stand before him, and before the assembled princes 
of the nations, to answer his royal questions at the peril of 
his liberty or his life; but, undaunted by every danger, the 
reformer went directly forward, met his majesty with perfect 
fearlessness, put the royal accusations beneath his feet, routed 
the whole body of his assailants, and stood forth to the world 
a conqueror, with his heel upon the heart of a corrupt church, 
with his grasp upon the throat of a superstitious and mer- 
cenary empire. That was the man, that was the attitude, to 
command the admiration of the Magyars. The doctrine, too, 
of personal responsibility and liberty, had always been their 
doctrine. They had contended for the right of private judg- 
ment in civil matters ; and they were equally ready to accept 
it in relation to religious practices and opinions. They never 
had been Catholics as other nations had been Catholics. They 
had been coerced rather than convinced. Though, by a con- 



G8 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tinued study and observance of the Cliristian religion for seve- 
ral centuries, they had become strong believers in its divine 
origin, and in its great value to the human race, they had 
never been very hearty papists. The papal system was too 
arbitrary to suit their temper. The dogma of pontifical 
infallibility had been to them an object of contempt. The 
custom of delivering up soul and body to the priest had never 
been their custom. They had ever been for liberty, indi- 
viduality, equality. Luther, in their eyes, had broached no 
new doctrines. He seemed only to have espoused their princi- 
ples. The first word from his mouth was to them the signal 
for re-asserting their national position. They did re-assert 
itj and the entire race, with the exception only of the great 
magnates, whose alliance with the government has ever been 
the means of their personal corruption, raised the banner of 
reform, and became stanch and open Lutherans. 

The Magyars, however, had to undergo another revolution, 
before their religion could be entirely settled. The division 
between Luther and Zuingle was at once felt in Hungary. 
Luther, while stoutly denying the Catholic dogma of the real 
presence of the Savior in the elements of the Supper, by 
coining the barbarous word, consubstantiation, had introduced 
an unintelligible barbarism into his system of theology. Many 
of his warmest friends had declared themselves incapable of 
seeing any fundamental diflFerence between this notion and the 
notion of the rankest Catholic. The Swiss reformer, in par- 
ticular, strove manfully against it. Calvin, his successor, 
organized in Switzerland a new society of reformers, by 
making the bread and the wine of the eucharist merely the 
representatives of the body and blood of the Eedeemer, and 
by purging the theology of Luther of several other half- 
catholic superstitions. His doctrine of decrees, which seemed 
to be but the revival of the old classic and oriental conceptions 
of fatality, was not at all unsuitable to gain credit with a 
people of eastern origin. When Matthias Devay began secretly 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 69 

to inculcate among the Magyars the opinions of the Swiss 
school, he found a large proportion of them, including the 
most intelligent and thoughtful, ready to receive him. Sze- 
gedin, a renowned Calvinistic preacher, quite equal in in- 
tellectual ability to any of the reformers, and resembling 
Luther in boldness and perseverance, followed Devay, and 
halted not in his great enterprise until he had succeeded in 
making a deep and general impression. The Lutherans of 
Hungary were divided by him into two great, irreconcilable, 
and even hostile parties. Time has not softened, but rather 
exasperated, their opposition. The Lutherans remain faith- 
ful to the theological system of the great German; but the 
Calvinists are, at once, the most liberal, the most enterprising, 
and the most powerful. 

In the midst of all these religious revolutions, the Germans 
of Hungary, after the most liberal allowance for individual 
exceptions, have generally adhered fixedly to the church of 
the imperial government. The government is German; and 
they are German. The government is Catholic ; and they are 
Catholic. That is the rationale of their position. It cannot 
be said that they dare not think. They do not wish to think. 
The government thinks for them. The priest is the paid 
and petted representative of the government. He sways his 
parishioners precisely as he lists. He teaches them to look 
down upon their fellow-citizens, belonging to the other com- 
munions, as so many damnable heretics, whose lives have been 
spared, not from merit, but from necessity. 

Indeed, from this brief historical survey of the various eccle- 
siastical establishments of Hungary, it is evident, that, in that 
country, religion is by no means a bond of peace and amity, 
but a fountain of bitterness and discord. The different races, 
sufficiently separate and hostile by national attractions and 
repulsions, are rendered still more unfriendly by that which 
ought to have pacified and united them. In all countries, 
this multiplicity of faiths has ever been, and will always be, 



70 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



a source of many animosities; but, in Hungary, the evil is 
peculiarly aggravated. Each race has its own religion. The 
Sclave, to whatever subdivision of his family he may belong, 
as well as the Wallachian, is almost certain to be a member 
of the Greek Communion. The Magyar, with whom the 
Szeckler must always be connected, excepting only their 
official and titled nobles, is either a Lutheran, or a Calvinist. 
The German, by position quite as much as by preference, is 
natm-ally a Catholic. The remainder of the population is 
divided between the Jews and Gipsies, the former of whom 
have shown, in all countries and through successive ages, a 
memorable stubbornness of will, by which they have been an 
isolated people in whatever nation they have dwelt; and the 
latter, the mysterious descendants of an unknown race of men, 
are a tribe of heathen, upon whom Christianity has never 
made its mark. 

In no country of the world, ancient or modern, has the 
population been so radically and perfectly divided in respect 
to religious faith. In no country have there existed more 
causes to render these divisions perpetual and bitter. Every 
Christian denomination, singular as it may seem, is the 
result of a religious quarrel. The Independent Greek Church 
quarreled with the Roman, separated from it, and then es- 
tablished both itself and its hatreds among the Wallachians 
and Sclaves of Hungary. The United Greeks, after raising 
a domestic feud, turned traitors to the Independent Church, 
and united with its rankest enemies. The Roman Catholics 
had a natural war with both these sects, and, though receiving 
the little band of returned prodigals with an ostentatious 
clemency, they have never granted them the affection and 
confidence, which had been promised and expected. The 
Protestants, whether Lutheran or Calvinistic, are the offspring 
of the bloodiest of all religious schisms; and they look down 
with a most hearty but justifiable contempt upon the super- 
stitions, and ignorance, and degradation of both the Roman 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 71 

and the Greek Catholics. The Jews, of course, despise all 
these rebels to the faith of Abraham, and are as sincerely 
hated or pitied by all the rebels in return. 

Thus, the Hungarian races are rendered tenfold more inimical 
to each other, by their profession of inimical religions; thus, 
these inimical religions, sufficiently opposite themselves, are 
rendered tenfold more opposite, by the quarrels in which they 
had their origin ; and thus, from the beginning of its history, 
with increasing rather than abating turbulence, has the land of 
the Magyar been torn, and rent, and sacrificed by its religious 
denominations. An eternal, unappeasable, insatiable hostility 
exists between them. No word of love and peace, from one to 
another, is ever offered. No such word would be received if 
ever so freely spoken. Each is contending for superiority. 
The Sclave struggles against all the others, not only because he 
is a Sclave, but because he is a Greek Catholic, while the rest 
of his countrymen, in his estimation, are worse than pagans. 
The German contends for the supremacy, because he is a 
German, because the government of the land is German, but 
much more because he is a Roman Catholic, while every thing 
about him is regarded as the rankest heresy. The Magyar, 
though willing to grant equality of privilege to the other sects, 
is indignant at the corruptions brought into the bosom of the 
Christian Church — the church of his affections — by both Greeks 
and Romans. Century after century, while a religious peace 
has been gradually settling down upon other countries, the 
religions of Hungary, which, in general, are races as well as 
sects, have been nearly as distinct, as hostile, as irreconcilable, 
as if they had inhabited as many unfriendly and warlike 
countries. 

The Hungarian religions have, also, become woven into 
the political movements of the several adjacent countries, 
whose races are represented in the mixed population of this 
kingdom. The present governors of Hungary, as has been 
seen, are Roman Catholics. They acknowledge the sovereignty 



72 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



of tte Roman pontiff. The Greek Catholics, on the contrarj', 
have their own pontiff, whose right of supremacy is not only 
maintained by them, but by the entire Sclavic family, over 
which Russia is now dominant. The Protestants, on the 
other hand, while they depend, from religious connections, 
upon no foreign people for support, renounce the jurisdiction 
of all pontiffs, and make the pure word of God the sole 
authority in religion. The state church, in all its ambitious 
projects, has been able to rely upon the help, not only of the 
Roman bishop, but of his Roman commonwealth. The Sclavic 
church, in its opposition to the Roman, has leaned upon the 
arm of the Greek bishop, and, through his agency, as well as 
by the license of a common interest, upon the more powerful 
support of imperial Russia. The Protestant cause, however, 
has had nothing to sustain it but its own intrinsic truth.* 
Indeed, in their religious character, they have ever been a 
peaceable, liberal, tolerant people, desiring the reformation 
of their Greek and Roman fellow-citizens, and sufficiently 
zealous in the propagation of their faith, but raising no fierce 
contentions in their country for religion's sake. The wars of 
opinion have been waged, not by their instrumentality or co- 
operation, but in spite of them and generally against them. 
To break them down, or to exterminate them from the country, 
Italy has sent swarms of Jesuits into their communities, armed 
with secret influences, guided by secret counsels, sustained by 
secret but abundant subsidies. With the same foul purposes in 
view, Russia has constantly tampered with the Sclavic tribes, 
sent political and religious einissaries among them, induced 

' Once, it is true, the Protestants of Hungary, when suffering a 
most cruel persecution from the other sects, who threatened their 
annihilation, sought and obtained the succor of Great Britain. But, 
at all other times, in all their calamities, they have trusted entirely 
to themselves. It is a singular fact, that, at this day, the Bank of 
England pays an annual interest on a sum of money funded hy 
Englishmen for the benefit of the Hungarian Protestants. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 73 

the priests and bishops to acknowledge the Czar as the head 
of their ecclesiastical establishment, and turned their hearts 
against all the remaining inhabitants of the country, and par- 
ticularly against the Magyars. In this way, Hungary has 
been made the common battlefield of Austria, and Rome, and 
Russia, as well as of all the nations taking part in their re- 
spective projects. Three great races, three great religions, 
three irreconcilable and indomitable ambitions, have thus 
divided and distracted the inhabitants, as well as weakened 
the power, of this most unfortunate but most interesting 
country.^ 

These religious feuds have implicated, not only the politics 
of the kingdom, and the political designs of the most powerful 
and unscrupulous of the surrounding nations, but also the 
cause of popular education. Each race, each sect, each politi- 
cal interest, has made the most strenuous exertions to sustain 
itself by the agency of schools and colleges. In many other 
countries, in the most enlightened and liberal portions of the 
world, sectarian seminaries have existed; but, in no part of 
Europe, or of America, is there one educational institution, 
which can be compared with the majority of similar establish- 
ments in Hungary. Every school is sectarian. In every one 
of them, not excluding the schools for the miners, some secta- 
rian theology is forced upon the pupils. The great national 
universities are Catholic; and no Protestant can send his sons 
to be educated in them, unless at the fatal risk of seeing them 
graduate as apostates to their paternal faith. The colleges of 
the Protestants, on the other hand, at Debreezin, at Papa, at 

* "As political agents and spies of the Russian court," says Paget, 
vol. ii. p. 82, "the Wallach priests are said to be made use of, and 
I am fully inclined to believe it; for they regard the Archbishop of 
Moscow as their primate, and the emperor of Russia as the head of 
their church." Nearly all travelers in Hungary speak of the eflForts 
of Rome and Russia, upon the Sclavic and German populations, to 
unite them respectively against the dominant race of people. 



/4 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Poson, at Kesmark, at Oedenburg, are forbidden by law to 
the sons of Catholics. The few seminaries of the Greeks, 
Independent and United, are equally under the ban of the 
other denominations. By this means, the educated men of 
the country are rendered rank partizans of their respective 
churches. Education, which, in many other parts of the 
world, is a bond of union among the more enlightened and 
powerful portion of the population, here serves as an instru- 
ment of separation. Sectarianism is formed within the hearts 
of the citizens from their earliest childhood. Their toy-books 
teach it to them. Their text-books engrave it into their souls. 
The authority of the masters, and all those tender and resist- 
less influences, which are felt at school, so weave it into the 
texture of their being, that it becomes and continues to be an 
inalienable attribute of their personality. 

The same spirit is also carried into social life. In city and 
in country, the people are divided into religious cliques, or 
circles, whose members hold intimacies almost exclusively with 
each other. In Pesth, in Pressburg, in all the great towns, 
and with nearly equal uniformity in the more populous of the 
rural districts. Catholics associate with Catholics, Protestants 
with Protestants, G-reeks with Greeks, Jews with Jews. All 
the little but important civilities of common life run in these 
separate circles. Trade is almost equally exclusive. Not 
only the aged, whose principles and prejudices are apt to be 
confirmed, but the youth, also, are so settled in their habits, 
or governed in their choices, that they seldom transgress this 
established regulation of Hungarian intercourse. The conse- 
quence is, that few friendships are formed, and few alliances 
take place, between the families of opposite religions. Inter- 
marriages, in fact, have been legally discouraged, and some- 
times positively forbidden, to young men and maidens of 
Catholic parentage. The government can not see, at least 
with satisfaction, the formation of any social connections, 
which would serve to abate the zeal of its adherents. So 



HUNGARY AND KOSSTITII. I'O 

watchful has it been to preserve the exclusiveness of its parti- 
zans, that, whenever any contraband marriage happened to 
occur, they have refused to give legal sanction to it, thereby 
throwing the question of inheritance, where there might be 
property at stake, into a troublesome and terrifying un- 
certainty; and the priests of the state church, always 
obedient to the religious prejudices of their sovereign, because 
they were thus but giving succor to their own, have refused 
not only to perform the matrimonial service, but to have any 
farther intercourse with the family and friends of the recreant 
party. The children of these mixed marriages are, by law, 
divided between the parents, the father having the charge of 
his sons, the mother of her daughters. Thus, this lamentable 
spirit of disunion, of separation, of hostility, begins its unholy 
business with the cradle. Mournful indeed, in every way, is 
the social condition brought about by the religious intolerance 
of the Hungarians. The Magyars are the only people, who, 
consistently and perseveringly, have opposed the sway of this 
spirit within the limits of their country.'' 

Perhaps the most embarrassing circumstance, connected 
with the religious state of Hungary, is the fact, that, in re- 
spect to their power, the parties are so nearly equal. If either 
of them had a decided preponderance, though there might be 
more oppression, there would be less agitation, and, conse- 
quently, less political imbecility. The Catholics, though a 
minority of the whole people, are held up by the authority of 
the government; but the numerous dignitaries of their church, 
distributed carefully to all the important places of the king- 

' The marriage of M. de Beothy, about the year 1839, is an example 
of the bigotry and policy of the government. The bishop of the 
diocese refused to oflSciate on the occasion. A Protestant minister 
-was employed to perform the service ; and the enraged bridegroom, 
•who had been a stanch Catholic, became one of the boldest and most 
successful defenders of Hungarian liberty. — Citi/ of the Magyar, 
vol. i. p. 288. 



76 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

dom, would give their communion a formidable influence with- 
out the help of any legal privileges. The king of Hungary 
is himself the acknowledged head of Catholicity within his 
dominions; but his authority is divided between the bishops 
of Erlau, of Kalocza, and of Gran. Under them there are 
fourteen diocesan, and sixteen secular, bishops. Below the 
bishops there are eighteen metropolitan and collegiate chapters; 
two hundred and sixty beneficed and honorary canons; one 
arch-abbot, ruling over a hundred and fifty abbots; and, 
below them all, a numerous, ignorant, bigoted, intolerant, 
sensual priesthood, whose bread is guaranteed by the fostering 
government, whose services are always rendered on the side 
of tyranny and oppression, and whose lives would be a scandal 
to the most degraded classes of any enlightened country. 

The Independent Greek Church is governed by two bishops, 
who, by the characteristic intrigue of the government, have 
been subjected to the Roman archbishopric of Gran. Under 
the jurisdiction of these bishops are two chapters, eleven 
beneficed canons, six titular or honorary canons, and about one 
thousand pastors. Though thus put under the surveilance of 
the state church, the Greek hierarchy support the government 
only when its measures are leveled against the Protestants; 
but, whenever they have any interests of their own to serve, 
they look to their natural ally and protector, the Russian 
Czar, for whose health and welfare they daily employ a most 
impressive and devout supplication, which is not only publicly 
pronounced, but openly inserted in their book of ritual. The 
priests of this religion, like the people served by them, are 
the most ignorant, debased, and superstitious in the kingdom. 

The United Greeks, on the other hand, who are decidedly 
more numerous than the Independents, are not very warm in 
their attachments either to their German rulers, or to their 
Russian patron. Russia, while she bestows her bribes upon 
them with a lavish liberality, does so with desire, rather than 
with expectation. The bond of sympathy between the United 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 77 

Greeks and the Russians is their common origin and language; 
but the ecclesiastical influence of this large body of religionists, 
where it is not itself otherwise interested, leans toward the 
Austro-Roman government of their nation; and they have 
been willing, for several centuries, to submit to the dictation 
of the Austro-Roman archbishop of Karlowicz, to whom 
Austria has committed the trust of keeping them in subjection. 

It must be evident, therefore, that the Protestant Magyars 
are the only people of Hungary, whose entire interests begin 
and terminate with their country. The Catholics belong to 
Rome and Germany. The Greeks, both Independent and 
United, are the natural confederates of Russia. Should Hun- 
gary fall, the Catholics have a home, a country, a kindred on its 
western boundary. The Greeks, in the same event, have a 
still larger and perhaps safer refuge just beyond its eastern 
limits. The Jews and Gipsies are as much at home, as much 
at their ease, in one part of the globe, as in another. The 
Magyar alone, of all its population, has no interest, nothing 
he can call his own, nothing to which he would lay a claim, 
but Hungary. All the others derive their being, or receive 
their consequence, or draw their support, from foreign sources. 
To these foreign sources they, consequently, fondly look and 
gratefully pay their allegiance. The Magyar receives nothing, 
owes nothing, pays nothing of the kind, in relation to any 
land but Hungary. The Magyars are Hungary. All the 
rest are foreigners. These expect all things from Austria, 
from Rome, from Russia. The Magyars have no dependence 
but God, their country, and their valor. 

Their religion makes them, at the same time, the friends 
of personal liberty. It has no hierarchy. Each congrega- 
tion is wholly independent of every other. Every one of them 
is a miniature republic, in which each member has his voice, 
his vote, his individual responsibility and importance. Every 
one of them is a school for the study and practice of the great 

doctrines of human freedom. Every one of them is a place, 

7* 



78 IIUNQAKY AND KOSSUTH. 

where men learn to think, to resolve, to act, not as other men 
may dictate, but as the pure word of God, expounded by reason 
and enforced by conscience, may command them. With the 
Magyar, indeed, allegiance to God is the first and great com- 
mandment. The second is a sincere, perfect, hopeful, un- 
faltering self-reliance. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 79 



CHAPTER IV. 

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF THE MAGYARS. 

It has been a question among philosophers, whether a 
language makes its people, or a people makes its language. 
The Greek, for example, not only contained a civilization 
within itself, but it had the power to impart that civilization 
to any people, who might adopt it. Such, indeed, is the 
actual history of the Greek, as it spread from its native seat 
to the many ancient countries, which it successively pervaded. 
It can not be maintained, perhaps, that there was any mean- 
ing, or potentiality, or creative power in the words themselves; 
but those words, when looked upon by the most barbarous 
tribes, were seen to be the exponents of human thoughts; 
and, therefore, into whatever land they traveled, they became 
active in stirring up the mind of its population to realize the 
ideas thus represented. In this way, more than by the valor 
of all her armies, did Greece gradually and effectually expand 
the compass of her nationality, till it was rendered almost 
universal. 

Not only the Greeks, however, but the population of every 
country, convey their national character to their language. 
Their language, in fact, is only the receptacle of that cha- 
racter. It is the common treasury, into which they all pour 
their thoughts, their feelings, their peculiarities. When thus 
full of the mind of a nation, it reacts directly and powerfully 
upon that nation, forming the mind of each new generation 
as it rises. Their speech becomes, in this manner, the perpe- 
tuator of the people, just as the people are the perpetuators of 
their speech. Let a certain portion of them lose the use of 
their mother tongue, and learn the dialect of another conntry, 



80 HUNQARY AND KOSSUTH. 

and they will at once be transformed, in heart at least, and 
in reality if they can have their choice, into citizens of that 
country. Let them all be led or forced to abandon their 
tongue, or let their tongue be annihilated altogether, and the 
entire nationality, which they had before, will be laid oflF, and 
a new nationality will come to them from their new language. 

Greece, in an early period of her history, happened to com- 
municate her language, by the means of a few colonies, to the 
western shores of Asia Minor. The result was, that all that 
portion of the world became, in every particular, Grecian. 
The inhabitants talked Greek, and read Greek, and transacted 
all their affairs in Greek. To Greece, as their father-land, 
they looked, for their instructors in philosophy, their text- 
books in science, their models in the arts, their forms of 
government, their principles of legislation, and for every thing 
which molds the character and creates the condition of a com- 
monwealth. Colonies equally large, and equally enlightened, 
were planted, also, on the plains of Italy and Sicily; but there 
were causes in existence, in these countries, which forbade 
the propagation of the colonial language within their limits. 
The Greek civilization, therefore, was confined to the Grecian 
cities thus transplanted in the west, though their political 
influence was paramount in south-western Europe, till they 
were subsequently overthrown by the towering enterprise of 
a native population.^ 

It has evidently been the conviction of all countries, which 
have had any reasons for giving attention to this subject, that 
a nationality is more inherent in the medium of a people's 
intercourse, than in their laws and constitutions. Spain, to 
defend herself against the Moors, fought for centuries to 
oppose the extinction of its own tongue by the diffusion of 
the Arabic. The old statute-books of Great Britain are full 



' This topic has been ably handled by Heeren in his Politics of 
Greece. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 81 



of legislative efforts, made by successive parliaments, against 
the Latin and the French, which Caesar and the Norman con- 
queror had respectively brought with them. Indeed, it was 
for a long period regarded as a hopeless task, by many English 
statesmen, to combine all parts of the realm under a homo- 
geneous government, whatever might be the nature of that 
government, until the dialects of the Scotch, the Irish and the 
Welsh could be melted down into one common language. 
Their foresight was almost prophetic. Scotland, at this time, 
is divided, not only between the Scotch and English languages, 
but, as a consequence, between Scotch and English sympathies, 
predilections, and tendencies. In Ireland, too, the same pro- 
phecy has met with the same fulfilment. In her northern 
counties, the English is spoken almost exclusively by the 
native population ; and it is in the north of Ireland, also, that 
the inhabitants look upon themselves, in all respects, as Eng- 
lishmen, while the southern portion of the island, where the 
original Celtic still prevails among the lower classes, has ever 
been the hot-bed of Irish independence.^ 

Not only the governments, however, but the religions of 
mankind, have seen and recognised the stubbornly preserva- 
tive power of language. The Jew, in all ages of the world, 
and in every region, has been able to maintain his mode of 
worship, against all the influences of all the countries where 
he has made his habitation. This he has done by clinging, 
with the tenacity of despair, to that majestic speech in which 
his venerable religion lies imbodied. Popery is perpetuated 
in modern Latin. The destruction of this form of the Latin, 
which makes repentance synonymous with penance, and in 
which the thousand other peculiarities of Romanism are in- 



" If England wislies to Anglicise Ireland, let her take such steps 
as will effectually root out the Irish dialect, by which the clannish 
spirit of the Hibernians has been maintained, and will be maintained, 
in spite of all the laws of parliament. 



82 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

separably interwoven, would be the annihilation of that ancient 
ecclesiastical establisnment. This object, however, will not 
be achieved without a struggle; for Rome well knows the 
position and importance of her citadel. 

Within the limits of the American States we have several 
striking illustrations of the great fact now considered. Lou- 
isiana, while speaking the French, and employing it as the 
legal language, even after her cession to our Union, continued 
to be, for many years, as much in sympathy with France, as 
with this country. Her citizens, her science, her philosophy, 
her literary influences, even her system of jurisprudence, were 
imported from the land to which her speech allied her. Until 
very recently, the legislature of this republic enforced the 
publication of all state papers in the French, and, so long as 
this practice was maintained, in spite of its close geographical 
connection and organic incorporation with the other republics 
of this nation, it was virtually, in every thing but a general 
recognition of our style of government, a foreign state. No 
sooner, however, did the English become the authorized lan- 
guage, than the French influences were discarded; and the 
old Civil Law, which it had brought from the mother country 
in the codes and pandects of Justinian, and which had been 
the established common law till that moment, was abated. 
So true it is, here as everywhere, that the laws and language 
of a people come and go together; while it is the next thing to 
an impossibility to destroy a nationality, without first destroy- 
ing that organized system of social intercourse of which the 
nationality is the life-receiving, as well as life-giving, spirit. 

It cannot be thought wonderful, therefore, that the language 
of every country has been felt and acknowledged as a political 
question with those making use of it. Every people, as they 
cherish their own identity, must pertinaciously adhere to that, 
which, more than every thing else, maintains the identity of 
their nation. They will not only choose to think, to feel, to 
speak, in the dialect endeared to them from the days of child- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 83 

hood, but to read the enactments of their legislators and the 
productions of their writers in that dialect. The words and 
accents so familiar to himself, every parent delights to hear 
his children reproduce, and every citizen resolves to have them 
perpetuated in the schools of his native land, and in the inter- 
course of social life. No reward can bribe, no power can com- 
pel him to relinquish his vernacular tongue, and to see another 
one replace it. He will war against every such design at 
home, and against every effort to contribute to it from abroad, 
with that force that springs from a universal instinct. His 
reason, too, will stir up his patriotism against it. To defend 
his language, and thereby his nationality, he will submit to 
any sacrifice, and impose upon himself any amount of hazard. 

"Without denying the possibility, however, of one nation's 
passing over from their own to another language, the facility 
of its so doing, nevertheless, is identical with the facility with 
which it can pass from its own to another nationality. That 
this passage can be made is not a matter of speculation, but a 
fact of history. Yet, between nationalities widely different, 
and still more where they are exactly opposite, the attempt to 
make it will be difficult. Two republics, though characterized 
by different languages, may, by a great and mutual effort, run 
into each other, and so amalgamate; and either of them, by 
a much harder struggle at self-sacrifice, may possibly put off 
its personal characteristics, and put on those of its associate 
or rival. For a republic, however, to pass into a monarchy, 
or for a monarchy to become a despotism, is a feat inexpressi- 
bly more laborious and impracticable ; while the transition of 
a despotism into a republic, or of a republic into a despotism, 
has ever been the work of force, and is attended by the terrible 
concomitants of war and blood. 

In the same manner, the languages in which these nationalities 
are imbodied, are equally various in their individuality, their 
stubborn self-existence, their ability to resist aggressions, some 
falling under a few hostile strokes, others defying every com- 



84 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



bination of influences and of powers. It may be laid down 
as a general law, that tbose have the greatest vitality, which 
are the most developed, precisely as a man is less easily de- 
stroyed than a little child. They, on the other hand, are the 
most developed, which the people speaking them are the most 
free to use. The language, in other words, of a free people, 
has not only greater capacity, compass and perfection than 
that of a nation, whose mouth is half-closed with fear, but 
also a much greater tenacity of life. A race of men, who, 
under all circumstances, can utter exactly what they think, 
will think the more. Their more numerous thoughts will 
give existence to a more numerous vocabulary of words. The 
language of such a race is, therefore, constantly drawing into 
itself the elements of strength. With every such language 
the time may come, when, like the Roman, it will have the 
power to conquer those, by whom the population originally 
employing it have been conquered. 

In making a reference of these general statements to the 
topic particularly under consideration, it must be remembered, 
that the Magyar is the speech of a free people, who have never 
been otherwise than free, and who, from their constitutional 
ardor, would be expected to pour, without restraint, all the 
rich and spontaneous productions of their free hearts into 
their social conversation. This expectation, it is said by 
those best acquainted with Hungarian, is entirely fulfilled; 
but a slight inspection of the language will be enough, so far 
as the present purposes require, to justify this opinion. 

The Magyars, originally of oriental extraction, have dwelt 
so long in Europe, that their language is neither eastern nor 
western exclusively. It is both y and it shows the marks of 
its twofold parentage in its structure.^ Like the Hebrew, 

' " La langue Magyare," say Cheuchard and Miintz, in tlieir ex- 
cellent geography, "n'a de rapport, en Em-ope, qu'avec celle des 
Fmlandais, qui sont probablenient, ainsi que les dominateurs de la 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH, 85 

and its cognate dialects, there is a prevailing tendency to 
unite the smaller words, with us called particles, as prefixes 
and suffixes to the larger ones; and there is, also, a great 
scarcity of abstract terms. We are told by an American his- 
torian, that, when the first missionaries to the Indians wished 
to translate the Christian doxology into the native tongues, 
they found it impossible to come nearer to the original than 
to say — "owr Father, his Son, and their Holy Ghost" — 
because of the want of words for father, son and spirit to 
which the relative particles were not organically affixed.* 
This perfectly illustrates what is to be understood of the 
characteristic just expressed. The difficulty here encoun- 
tered, however, would not be met with in the Hungarian, 
because, though born in the east, it has had a long European 
education. Nor, indeed, is any of the Semitic tongues as 
straitened, in respect to abstract words, as that of our un- 
lettered Hurons j while the Magyar has not only a clear title 
to some relationship with the great family of European lan- 
guages, but, in the quantity of its abstract words, is nearly 
equal to some of them, which have long been accounted copious 
and polished. 

The Hungarian is rich in inflections, almost every relation 
existing between words, or things, being easily and perfectly 
expressed by modifications of the words themselves. As, in 
Latin, caput means a head, but capitis, of a head; so, in this 
language, Jci signifies which, and kik, to ivhich; and, in a 
similar way, nearly the entire vocabulary submits to the same 
changes for the sanae purposes. In some words, particularly 
in the pronouns, these changes are very marked; my and 
magam, for example, our and I, coming from the same root, 



Hongrie, d'origine Mongole." — Uniyersal Geography, Paris 1839, 
p. 458. 

* Bancroft's Hist. United States, vol. iii. p. 258. The fact was 
first discovered by Brebeuf. 



86 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



which is nothing but the letter ni. In other words, there ia 
^0 inflection whatever, the particle te, for instance, being either 
yoM, or thou, or th^/, as the sentence may require, though the 
correlate of our word (Jiine is ti-ed, which is only another form 
for te. The word man is ember; and the dative case is emher- 
1ms, which signifies to a man. The remaining cases are treated 
in the same manner. 

The Greek and German have long been celebrated for their 
great facility in the composition and resolution of their words; 
but neither of them surpasses, nor even equals, in this quality, 
the Hungarian. It would almost seem to be, not a verbal, 
but a syllabic language, whose syllables are capable of an in- 
finite variety of temporary unions, according to the innumera- 
ble requirements of thought, which, when these demands are 
met, are again distributed, like a case of type, to be used again 
in other combinations as endless as the workings of the mind.^ 
With all this flexibility, however, it is singular that many 
relative words, which, it would be supposed in a language so 
accommodating, could be cut into almost any size and shape, 
have no abstract forms on which the relatives are based. The 
Hungarian, for example, has a vast number of modifications 
of the root-word assom, woman, embracing all the relations in 
which the term, or the being, can possibly be placed; but the 
simple word, tvi/e, without qualification or connection, can 
never drop from Hungarian lips. The Magyar can speak of 
his own wife, by using the "word felesigem, my wife; and, by 
certain easy changes upon the word, he can make it represent 
the wife of any person he may choose; btt, to set aside all 

•* "In consequence of this joining together of words," says Paget, 
"the Hungarians can construct a whole sentence in a single word; 
and the following is often given as an illustration — not that such a 
word would be used in conversation, but as a proof of how far it 
maybe carried: Jla meg kd-penye-ge-sit-te-len-nit-teh-het-7i&-lek. This 
signifies, in English — 'If I could deprive you of your clothes!'" — 
Hungary and Transylvania, vol. ii, p. 277. Am. Ed. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



idea of persons, with whom a wife may be connected, and to 
represent her as a being by herself, and yet as a wife, is a 
thing that he cannot do, " But there is a more singular trait 
in the Hungarian than this. All those languages, which, like 
the Greek and German, make the gender of a great number 
of their words depend, not upon the objects they represent, 
but upon their respective terminations, have been long laughed 
at or admired for the marvellous confusion they produce in 
the natural division of the sexes. In Greek, a man is mascu- 
line, while a Utile man is neuter. The German commits the 
still greater absurdity of making the wi/e neuter. But the 
greatest absurdity of all is in the Hungarian, in which the 
word is neither masculine, feminine, nor neuter. The language 
takes no account whatever of the sexes. 

The readiest and simplest way, nevertheless, to get at least 
a general conception of a strange language, is to inspect the 
style and structure of some passage in it, which, in his own, 
is familiar to the student. It is for this reason that the Lord's 
Prayer, rather than any other passage, should be adopted as 
the key to be commonly used for this purpose by comparative 
philologists. That Prayer, with a sublinear English trans- 
lation, as near as it is possible, perhaps, to render an oriental 
into a western language, is as follows : 



My 
Our 


At-yank ki vagi 
Father which art 


a mennyecben; 
in heaven ; 


szenteltessek meg a te 
hallowedness be to thy 


neved; 
name; 


jaeijaen-el 
come thou 


a te 
to thy 


orszaged ; legyen meg 
kingdom ; let be 


a te 
to thy 


akeratod 
will 


mint 
as 


mennyben ugi 
in heaven so 


itt 
in 


e-faeldenis; 
the earth; 


ami 
and 


mindennapi kenyemnket 
day-by-day our-bread 


ad-meg ; 
give; 



nUNQARY AND KOSSUTH. 



boksatunk azoknak a kik mi ellensunk 

forgive all [things] to wliich we ourselves 

vetunk; es ne vigy minket a kifertebo; 

return forgiveness ; and not lead us to temptation ; 

szabadies (loeg) minket 

deliver (be) us 

mert ti-ed az orszag, az 
for tbine is kingdom^ is 
diesaseg, mind-aeraekke. Amen, 
glory, all-forever. Amen. 



a gonosztul ; 

from evU ; 

batolom, es s 

power, added t( 



Tbe European, or Japbetic, relationship of the Hungarian 
will be sufficiently evident, by a comparison of the following 
twelve words, taken from this Magyar Pater-Noster, with their 
correlates in the Latin, German, French, Spanish and English 
languages, though the collation might be carried to any extent : 
Hung. Latin. German. French. Spanish. English 
My Mens Meiu Mon' Mi My 

Mi Meus Mein Mon Mi My 



Ki Qui 1 Que 

TT-i /-\ • formerly pronounced 
Klk Quij 7,-ee in Europe QuC 


Que 
Que 




Meg Machinor 


Machen 




Make [be] 


Ad-megDo. withad Do. with ad 




Do. with to 


Neved Nomen 


Name Nom 


Nombre 


Name 


Legyen Licet 


Lassen Laisser 


Licito 


Let 


A A 


An A 


1 


At 


Te Tu 


Du Te 


Tu 


Thou 


Ne Non 


Nicht Ne 


No 


Not 


Az Est 


1st Est 


Es 


Is 



It is evident, therefore, that more than one quarter, at least, 
of the words of the Hungarian Pater-Noster are European.*' 



* Mr. Sandor Tokiitz, a native Hungarian, now a resident of Cin- 
cinnati, true to the pride of character so natural to the Magyar, 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 89 

Its affinity to the oriental, or Semitic, languages is naturally 
more remote, and less easily discovered, just as the character- 
istics, of the child are apt to lose themselves in the more com- 
plicated habits of the man. This is particularly true of the 
vocabulary of the language, while its organic laws have been 
less liable to change. There are many striking analogies, 
nevertheless, between the words of the Hungarian and the 
Hebrew, with occasional resemblances to the words of other 
eastern tongues. The Magyar kalap, for example, which 
means a hat, forcibly reminds the scholar of the Hebrew 
'kelub, which signifies any thing woven, or plaited, or braided, 
as we know the hats of the Hungarian peasantry, as well as 
the hats of the common people of the whole of southern 
Europe, have been from the earliest times. The word nop, 
which is our sim, also makes one think of the Hebrew noph, 
the term for hig7it. The Hungarian cJiiMk, star, recals the 
Hebrew kilak, an old root with the sense of heating, pulsating, 
and hence Jlasliing. The word for water, wiz, whose Euro- 
pean relative is found in the German wasser, and whose Asiatic 
connection is plainly manifest in the Arabian wadi, belongs 
to that interesting class of words, found in the dialects of all 

kindly furnishes books and advice to every one who is curious 
enough about his mother tongue to ask his assistance, but will not 
let himself out as a teacher of it, while he depends for his livelihood 
upon the business of his profession. I feel bound, therefore, to in- 
form my reader, that I am greatly indebted to that gentleman for 
the very little that I have been able to acquii'e of his beautiful and 
rich language. Like every Magyar, Mr. Tokitz is a natural linguist. 
He has traveled extensively in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and in 
America. He speaks with fluency Hungarian, Latin, German and 
Italian, and has some knowledge of the Arabic and Coptic, having 
spent quite a period in Egypt. In four months he learned to speak 
the English. If, as a country, we wish to make the best practical 
use of the misfortunes of unhappy Hungary, we should employ her 
gifted sons, who have fled to us for shelter, as teachers of language 
in our schools, colleges, and universities. 

8* 



90 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

known countries, wbicli demonstrate at once the unity of all 
systems of human speech, and of all the scattered tribes of 
men that employ themJ 

The sound of the language, when pronounced as it should 
be, is clear, soft, musical, and yet grand. It abounds in 
vowels; nor is the tone of the consonants as harsh as in most 
European languages. The letter s, for example, which renders 
all the Grothic dialects so disagreeable, in a large proportion 
of their words, in Hungarian is I'educed to a firmly enunciated 
z, or a moderate sh. The name of the great hero of Hungary, 
for instance, which, in America, is wrongly called Kossuth, 
with the accent on the first syllable, with both the sibilants 
hissingly brought out, and with the rough h at the termina- 
tion of the word, in the lips of the educated Magyar becomes 
Kozzhdot, in which every letter is both soft and sweet. At 
the beginning of a word the Hungarian generally repudiates the 
doubling of a consonant; and if, in any word, two consonants 
do come together, as in szenteltessuTc, they are nearly always 
such as require a soft enunciation. Often, as in the adopted 



' The Hungarian Pater-Noster I have superficially compared with 
the Pater-Nosters of ten eastern languages — the Syriac, Arabic, 
Persic, Coptic, Abyssinian, Malayan, Zanguebaran, Siamese, Ben- 
galese, Malabaran, — which, with many others, are now before me. 
In spite of a very imperfect acquaintance with the laws of compara- 
tive philology, and of a still more imperfect knowledge of most of 
these oriental tongues, as well as an absolute ignorance of some of 
them, I have been able, by dint of some interest and perseverance, 
to make out a general parallel in their grammatical structure, and 
an occasional resemblance in their vocabularies. The common 
notion, maintained by recent writers, and particularly by Fejer, that 
the Hungarian bears no analogy to any known language but the 
Finnish, I trust is shown in the text to be incorrect ; but it might 
be much more largely and -elaborately demonstrated to be false, by 
a collation of the tongues above enumerated, were it consistent with 
the general object of this chapter to expand upon the discussion of 
so erudite a subject. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 91 

word ishola, from the Latin schola, a short supernumerary 
vowel is employed, as in the Greek and Hebrew, to make the 
pronunciation easy and euphonic. In this way the Turkish 
ki'al becomes hiraly. The simple vowels are seven in num- 
ber — a e i o o u it — which, to form the prolonged vowel 
sounds, are modified by an accent — d e i do 4 U — ^by which it 
is indicated that the sounds are lengthened. The addition of 
this accent not only afi"eets the pronunciation of all words, and 
modifies the sense of many, but of some of them makes a 
complete revolution. The word Jcar means arm, and has its 
analogy in the Greek xsip, which signifies the hand; but Jcar 
with the accent, hdr, means injury, which is entirely another 
word. In the same manner, kereh is round, and Jcer6Jc is a 
wheel, while herek is the verb to heg. It is this power and 
importance of the accent, more than its grammatical structure, 
or even the very troublesome composition and combination of 
its words, that renders the Hungarian so difficult of acqui- 
sition. There are accents enough in Hebrew; but a scholar 
can read that language without any dependence on them. In 
several of the oriental languages, they are convenient, but not 
essential. In the Sanscrit, it is known, they have this Hun- 
garian privilege of making radical alterations in the sense of 
words; and, to illustrate their occasional power in Greek, the 
wit of Demosthenes may be cited, who, wishing to make the 
Athenian multitude call his opponent a hireling, and render 
them vociferous in their condemnation, asked them, at the top 
of his voice, if the man were not a fiuaOu-to;. They, to correct 
his pronunciation, as he expected, cried out from every part 
of the assembly, /utc^coT'dj, misthotos ; upon which the wily 
orator, turning full upon his apparently convicted and shud- 
dering victim, but now with the proper accent, exclaimed with 
prodigious emphasis — " Did I not tell thee, sir, that thou art 
a misthotos ?" — a hireling !^ 



* It may be necessary to observe that the word jm;o-6»t9c, 'which the 



92 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The language of the IMagyars, indeed, is among the richest 
and most beautiful ; but its literature is far from being equal 
to it. The inequality, however, does not spring from any 
want of vigor, or activity, or enterprise in the Hungarian 
mind, but from the force of circumstances. There was 
scarcely ever a people, in this respect, so unfortunate. At 
the beginning of the eleventh century, just as they completed 
the settlement of their country, and conquered a peace with 
surrounding nations, the conversion of king Stephen to the 
Catholic faith gave admittance, not only to the priests of Rome, 
but to the Roman language. In the court and camp of the 
monarch, and, as a natural consequence, in the legislative 
chambers of the nation, the new tongue at once acquired the 
ascendancy. It soon passed downward to the masses of the 
people. In a short time, not only the laws of the land, but 
the business of the towns, and the conversation of the popu- 
lace, were published and carried on in Latin. Thus intro- 
duced into the country, its position was secured by the erection 
of schools, in which the foreign tongue entirely displaced the 
native. Before the death of Stephen, numerous monastic and 
episcopal seminaries were raised up in Hungary; and, in the 
thirteenth century, a general institution for the cultivation of 
the liberal arts, as well as for theology and jurisprudence, was 
established at Vessprim. In the year 1367, Louis the First 
founded a new university at Ftinfkirchen, which, in 1388, 
was followed by that of Buda. Matthias Corvinus established 
a third at Pressburg. In the sixteenth century arose the 
almost numberless schools, great and small, of the Hungarian 
Protestants; and, in the seventeenth, the Jesuits built those 
of Tyrnau, Pressburg, Kaschau and Klausenburg. The in- 
stitution of Tyrnau subsequently became a university, which, 



Athenians supposed Demosthenes to be using, might have been con- 
founded by many -with ^(Vflaro?, which made bad grammar as well as 
a bad meaning. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 93 

on tlie expulsion of the Jesuits in 1784, was transferred to 
Pe&th. The number of minor colleges, with one or two faculties, 
brought into existence during the seventeenth and eighteenth 
centuries, indicates a general and powerful ambition in the 
cause of learning; and the academies of Pressburg, of 
Kaschau, of Raab, of Grosswardein, and of Agram are still 
popular. It is lamentable, however, that, in all the institu- 
tions here enumerated, the Latin entirely displaced the lan- 
guage of the country. 

The accession of the French princes, in the year 1307, 
began a new era in relation to the literature of the Magyars. 
In the court of the king, and in the army, the French lan- 
guage was at once spoken. From these sources it spread over- 
all the nation. The schools, it is true, still maintained the 
supremacy of the Latin, not only in their own halls, but in 
the various departments of human learning. - The books of the 
country, on almost every topic requiring erudition, were still 
written in it. The French, indeed, rapidly became the lan- 
guage of fashionable life. The Hungarian, however, yet 
slumbered in the low dwellings of the common people ; and it 
is worthy of remark, that these princes of the house of Anjou, 
with all their natural admiration of the French, never made 
the fii'st attempt to suppress the vernacular speech of their 
Magyar subjects. Several of them, on the contrary, studied, 
mastered, and employed it. 

On the field of Mohacz, in the year 1526, the French period 
came to a sudden and final termination. It was followed by 
the ascendancy of the Germans, who, on the elevation of 
Ferdinand the First to the throne of Hungary, spread their 
language and literature over the whole kingdom. The French, 
it is true, remained; but it remained only among the more 
genteel classes of society, who still kept up their French 
sympathies and breeding through the instrumentality of 
books. They sent their sons to the great university of Paris, 
which, in those days, was more than what Oxford, or Cam- 



94 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



bridge, or Gottingen is in ours. In the presence of the king, 
however, the Grerman was always spoken. The ofl&cers of the 
army, also, who were generally the countrymen of the mon- 
arch, carried the dialect of the court to the deliberations of 
the camp. Germans, always and everywhere a working and 
trafficking people, rushed into the cities and towns of Hun- 
gary, and soon made their language a necessity, even to the 
natives, in business and in trade. In the sixteenth century, 
the introduction of the reformed religion, which, from Geneva 
to Wittenburg, was found either in Latin or in German, 
gave a new impulse to this lingual revolution. In the seven- 
teenth century the revolution was complete. 

Thus, the Hungarian has been three times overwhelmed by 
the influx of foreign languages; and, at all times, it has been 
surrounded by the Sclavic, which is spoken by three-fifths 
of the population of the country. The force with which it 
has repelled these aggressions, the obstinacy of its adhesion to 
itself, are a proof of great vital energy. No similar example 
has been recorded. In England, the Celtic, the Latin, the 
Anglo-Saxon, and the Norman have given way to each other in 
succession, until, at this day, the English is almost the only 
language. In Spain, the original Basque, and, in central 
Italy, the Tuscan, were so entirely subverted by the Eoman, 
that there is scarcely a word now extant of either. In the 
north of Europe, the French and German have nearly 
smothered the Dutch, the Danish, and all the Scandinavian 
dialects. Similar facts exist in all parts of Europe, as well 
as in Asia, in Africa, and in our own continent. In Hungary, 
however, the language of a single race, which constitutes a 
minority of the people, has held its ground in spite of all op- 
position. The opposition, too, has been more general, more 
frequently repeated, and more determined, than ever has been 
raised against any other language. Yet, there it is, as vigor- 
ous, as obstinate, as fresh for the battles of self-defence, as ever. 

The literature of the Hungarians, nevertheless, it must be 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 95 

confessed, is not so flattering. There has been native talent 
enough, certainly, to have produced any amount of books in 
every department of human learning; but, from causes ope- 
rating alike in all countries, the Magyar authors have too 
generally been compelled to send out their works in a dead, 
or in a foreign, language. Had they not done so, at certain 
periods in their national history, their productions would 
never have been read. If not read, they certainly would not 
have been sold or bought; and it may be safely presumed, 
that authorship in Hungary is not so easy and natural a busi- 
ness, as to have lived without support. The historians of 
Hungary have given to the reading public long lists of works, 
published since the art of printing was introduced into their 
country in 1473, chiefly in Latin and German, as the leading 
productions of their press; but not only are the majority of 
them the works of foreigners residing in their land, but a 
great proportion of them are destitute of any general celebrity 
in the literary world. ^ 

The Lutheran Keformation, while it helped to spread the 



" In history and its collateral sciences they give as the following 
names: Bonfinius, Galeotus, Ranzanus, Ursinus, Brutus, Taurinus, 
Laszky, Werner, Lazius, Ilicinus, Sommer, Gableman, Typotius, and 
Ens, all of ■whom, I think, excepting Laszky, were foreigners. 
Among their native authors, on the same subjects, may be reckoned 
Jo, Thurotzius, Tubero, Flacius, Brodericus, Zermegh, Listhius, 
Verantius, Forjacs, Olahus, Sambucus, Schesaus, Zamosius, Ist- 
vansi, Petrus de Il4wa, Parmanus, Inchoferus, Nadasi, Frolich, 
Ratkai, Johannes and Wolfgangus, Counts Bethlen, Lucius, Toppelti- 
nus, Haner and Szantivanyi. 

In medicine, and its cognate studies, occui' most frequently the 
names of Clusius, Kramer, Perliczy, Moller, Jessenius, Torkos, 
Molmar, Mitterpacher, Piller, Koleseri, Weszprenyi, Naygar, Paris- 
popai, Benko, Poda, Born, Hedwig, Lumiczer, Kietaibele, Grossinger, 
J. B. Horvath, Domin, Pauhl, and Ichraud. 

In the philosophical and mathematical sciences may be set down 
the names of Petrus de Dacia, Peurbach, Dudith, Boscovic'^. Szenti- 



96 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTU. 

German language among the Hungarians, did still more to 
call out the native Magyar. The papal pai'ty, not being 
acquainted with the language of the people, were compelled 
to write almost entirely in Latin; but the Hungarian re- 
formers, taking advantage of this ignorance, addressed their 
arguments and appeals to the populace in their cherished 
vernacular. The result was, that a new life was breathed into 
it. Discussions, letters, books appeared in it, one after ano- 
ther, in rapid succession. The Bible was frequently translated 
into it. The religious struggle soon became patriotic. The 
papal party, seeing the power of the vernacular in the great con- 
test, rose with one voice with the determination to suppress it. 
The nation rose with equal unanimity to defend it. All man- 
ner of works, historical, literary, and religious, poured from 
the Hungarian press, and filled the dwellings of the native 
population. Reading became a sort of duty; and every Mag- 
yar, who could write a book in his mother tongue, was sure 
to find any extent of patronage. This, in a word, was the 
dawning period of native literature in Hungary.^" 

vanyi, Berenyi, Segner, Hell, Mak6, J. B. Horvath, Pap Fogarasi, 
Handerla, Mikovinyi, Rauscb, and Rozgonyi. 

In poetry and eloquence the Hungarian student sees oftenest the 
names of Janus Pannonius, Johannes Vit6z, Bartholemew Pannonius, 
Jakob and Stepan Piso, Zalkan, Olahus, Franciscus Hunyadi, Szent- 
gyorgyi, Bekenyi, Schesaus, Lang, Werner, Uncius, Sambucus, Ttiry, 
Kassai, Filitzky, Dobner, Bajtai, Zimanyi, Szerdahely, Somsich, 
Nicolaus Revai, Desoffy and Karlooszky. 

" Next to the religious productions of this period, which are too 
numerous to be mentioned, orations, histories, codes of law, philo- 
logical works, as well as popular songs and even epics, are the most 
abundant. Among the orators, who appeared between 1558 and 
1738, the following are the most noted: Goal (155.8), Juhac (1563), 
Davidis (1569), Kulczar (1574), Bornemisza (1575), Telegdi (1577), 
Decsi (1582), Karolyi (1584), Pasman (1604), Kecskemeti (1615), 
Zvonarics (1628), Kopcsanyi (1630), Kaldi (1630), Margitai (1652), 
and Alvincszy (1738). The principal historians were Szekely (1559), 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 97 

The efforts of the papal party, however, to suppress the 
language and literature of the Hungarians, were at length 
almost victorious. The Magyar press was more and more 
shackled. Magyar productions nearly ceased to flow from it. 
The Latin was revived again. A Latin era followed; and, 
what is worthy of distinct observation, it was between 1702 

Temesvari (1569), Heltai (1572), Petho (1660), Bortha (1664), and 
Lisznyai (1692). The Latin code, -written by the hand of Stephen, 
was translated into the Hungarian by Blasius Veres (1561), Kaspar 
Heltai (1571), and Okolisczanyi (16'±8). In philology are included 
the Pesti Nomenclatura (1538), Ordosi's Grammar (1539), Calpin's 
Lexicon with Hungarian notes (1587), the dictionary of Kovacz 
(1590), Molnai's Grammar (1610), the grammars of Geler Katona, 
Ksipkes Komaromi, Pereszlenyi, and Kovesdi, and the dictionary of 
Piirizpapai with Tzeczi's principles of Hungarian orthography. Un- 
numbered ballads fell from the pens of Tinyeli (1540), Kakony (1549), 
Valkai (1572), Tzerenyi, Szegedi, Illyfalvi, Szetary, Faszkas, (1577), 
Calassa, lUosvai, Gosarvrai, Veres, Enzedi, Szollosi (1580), and 
Tzakoranyi (1592). Epics were produced by Count Nicolas Zrini, 
(1652), Ladislaus Listhi (1053), Christoph Pasko (1663), and Count 
Stephen Kohary (1699). The intellectual efforts of the noted Stephen 
Gyongyosi (1664-1734), as well as the lyric attempts of Rimai, Ba- 
lassa and Beniczky, belong to this vigorous era. Of the several 
translations of the Scriptures into Hungarian, the following are the 
best known to European scholars: Komjati (1533), Pesthi (1536), 
Erdosi (1541), Heltai (1546), Szekely (1548), Juhacz (1565), Felegy- 
h^zi (1586), Karolyi (1590), Molnar (1608), Kaldi (1625), an asso- 
ciation of reformed theologians (1661), Kzipkes Komiaromi (1685), 
and Totfalusi (1685). Many of these translations, though made in 
Hungary, were printed in foreign cities, among which Cassel, 
Utrecht, Nuremberg, and Brieg may be mentioned. It is impossible, 
in a note, and it would be foreign to the object of the text, to enter 
into any criticisms of this list of works, which I have compressed to 
its closest form ; but a bare inspection of it will be enough to im- 
press the reader with the vitality and energy of the Hungarian lan- 
guage, when once roused to action, iu spite of its having been so 
long overwhelmed by the languages of Germany, of France, and of 
imperial and papal Rome. 

9 



98 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



and 1780, after all these great deeds of the Magyar mind to 
disenthral itself, that the Latin reached its greatest purity and 
power in Hungary." 

This Latin period terminated at the accession of Joseph the 
Second to the Hungarian throne. That monarch, falling in 
with the Catholics, did every thing in his power to give the 
German the ascendancy in political and common life, though 
the Latin was still allowed to linger in the schools. Again 
the nation stood up against this attempt. Its patriotic feel- 
ings were completely roused. It resolved, with an energy 
truly Hungarian, that its own language, instead of being 
crowded down to a third or fourth-rate place, from that mo- 
ment should hold the first. The resolution was, at the be- 
ginning, merely political, being confined to the National As- 
sembly and the county meetings. It soon became national 
and universal. In 1781, the noted and talented Matthias 
Roth established the first Hungarian journal at the city of 
Pressburg, which, though weak and feeble at the first, grew 
at length to great popularity and power. During the agita- 
tions of the French Kevolution, from the rise of Eoland to 
the fall of Napoleon, this and other Magyar newspapers kept 
the Hungarian public well informed of the real state of Eu- 
rope, while the Austrian journals, according to their character, 
mistified and misled their German readers. The successes of 



'* The works of Hidi, Hevenesi, Kzwittinger, Kazy, Tarnozy, Bel, 
Prileszky, Huszty, Szegdi, Decericius, Stilting, Bajtai, Timon, Pe- 
terfsi, Kaprinai, Kollar, Lod, Thuroczy, Schmitt, Bod, Szaszky, 
Schier, Severini, Benczur, Pray, Cornides, Cetto, Ganoky, Novak, 
Salagi, Katona, Kerclielich, Palma, Wagner, Schonwisner, Kova- 
chich, Wespremi, and Hovanyi are regarded as the great ornaments 
of this Augustan age of Hungarian Latin. The Magyars, however, 
were not entirely idle. The close reader of the literary history of 
this era will learn the names of Franz Faludi, Barczai, Lorenz Orczy, 
George Bessenyi, Baroczi, Teleki, and of Daniel and Paul Anyos, 
who still adhered, with no trifling reputation, to their native language. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 99 

the French armies in Austria so shattered its imperial strength, 
that, with all its subsequent boastings, it has never since had 
the power of domineering" over its subject provinces and king- 
doms, as it had had for nearly all time before. Hungary had 
the sagacity to see her day. Without harboring, however, 
the remotest intentions of separation or revolt, she again re- 
newed her resolution to protect herself. Her nationality ex- 
isted in her language. This she plainly perceived; and, in 
1820, she began to pass laws tending toward its complete 
emancipation. It was ordered, that all the acts of the As- 
sembly, all the proceedings of the com-ts, and all the govern- 
mental business of the country, should be published and 
transacted in the vernacular. Prizes were also offered for 
native literary works of merit; and, by the same authority, 
the Hungarian was taught in all the schools, from the lowest 
to the highest. Lecturers were also sent out, to traverse the 
country, to awaken an interest in the subject, and to deliver 
addresses on the language in all the academies and colleges. 
Literary periodicals, of no small pretensions, sprang up in 
every quarter. A Hungarian theatre was opened at Buda, 
and another at Pesth, for the purpose of perfecting the pro- 
nunciation of the mother tongue, and of teaching it to the 
higher classes, who, in the universities and in their residence 
at court, had almost forgotten it.^ 

The poetic, and particularly the dramatic department of the 
national literature has had so much to do in developing the 
talents and the taste of Hungary, that it deserves the most 



'* To this period belong certain names, wliich, dryly as they may 
appear in a simple enumeration, should be given to the cui-ious 
reader, "who may wish hereafter to make some farther acquaintance 
with the language of this newly-opened and interesting nation. On 
grammatical and philological subjects, he may inquire for the works 
of Izabo, Rajnis, Beregszaszi, Gyarmathi, Aranka, Hcildi, Beuko, 
Kassai, Pethe, Szentpali, Bojthi, Versegi, Virag, Revai, Marton, and 
Stephen Horvath. 



100 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

marked attention. The oldest poet of the Magyars, so far as 
there is any record, was Demetrius Tszanadi, who sang the 
conquest of Hungary." He was followed by Stephen Sze- 
kelyi, Nagy Batzoy, Temesvori, Bogoti, Valkai, and Dosvai, 
who wrote the glorious chronicles of their country in inglorious 
rhymes. Valentine L. B. Balassa is looked upon at home as 
the Hungarian Pindar. Erdbsi endeavored, but without much 
success, to introduce the hexameter into his language. His 
subjects, if there had been no other obstacle, would have de- 
feated him ; for they consisted chiefly of foolish attempts, at 
the end of each book of the New Testament, which he had 
just translated, to give a poetical summary of its contents. 
The seventeenth century was quite prolific in poetical compo- 
sition. The works of Simon Petsi and of Petrus Benitzky 
continue to be read. Stephen Gyongybsi, who filled up the 
entire space between 1620 and 1704 with his life and labors, 
did much to enrich his native language, though his style is 
stiff, unnatural, and diffuse. Greorge Tranowski, who wrote 
sacred songs, which were partly original and partly translated 
from the German, is reverenced as the Luther of Hungarian 
verse. Ladislaus Listhi was an epic poet belonging to this 
period. He treated the defeat of Mohacz, at the same time 
that ^e famous Nicolas Zrini celebrated the deeds of his more 
famous ancestor, the defender of Szigeth. The most of these 
poets manifested a crude taste in the choice of topics. The 
English Armstrong has been ridiculed for treating the Art of 
Health in verse; but George de Vizaka Baracz, a Hungarian 
poet, had preceded the Englishman in his folly, and greatly 
surpassed him in ill success. His theme was the vascular 
system of the human body; and his poem sets forth the 
wonders of the secretory and excretory vessels very much as 
a madcap of a medical professor would teach them to his 
class. At an earlier date, Oroszeghyi had tried his skill in 

" He flourished about 1527. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 101 

rhyming the utility of cultivating the fir-tree; and, with an 
equal stupidity, Onadi had made the elements of arithmetic 
dance, or hobble, in didactic verse. 

The eighteenth century was ushered in by the songs of 
Count Stephen Kohary, a lyric poet of some eminence, who 
was succeeded by Florinda, in whose works the geography 
aud history of the modern empires and nations are combined. 
Count John Lazar, known as the Dacian Janus, and Samuel 
Hruskovitz, a sacred poet, attained no small distinction, among 
their countrymen, before 1748. About the same time, the 
popular effusions of George Verestoi and of Benjamin Szonzi, 
who were the Burns and the Berenger of the Magyars, seized 
upon the patriotic spirit of the people and carried the nation 
in a sort of triumph. 

The French school of Hungarian poetry was founded by 
George Bessenyi, whose career began in 1740 and closed in 
1811, and to whom his native land owes a deep debt of grati- 
tude. In 1773 he established the Hungarian Spectator, in 
which he stated and defended his peculiar views with great 
eloquence. His command of language was the wonder of hia 
generation. He not only made for himself an undying repu- 
tation, as a polite scholar, but fixed his opinions as laws of 
taste to a great proportion of his countrymen. 

The classical school may be traced to a very early period; 
but its power was first felt in the works of Szilagyi, and of 
Szcntiobis, two recent but successful imitators of the style of 
Horace. The social humor of the great Roman is said to have 
been remarkably well mimicked by the latter of these writers, 
while his sentimental manner was most conspicuous in the 
productions of the thoughtful and melancholy Paul von 
Anyos. The very learned John Baptista Molmar, and the 
didactic poet, Kalmar, were in the eighteenth century the 
ornaments of this school. They were followed by Alexander 
Baroczy and Nicolas Bevai, who, in their classical tendencies, 
pursued the beaten path of the Germans and the French. 



102 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Gabriel Dayka, the Anacreon of Hungary, took the erotic 
odes of Horace as his models. The school was continued by 
Gideon Raday, and by the epigrammist, Benedict Virag, whose 
works were much read and quoted at the beginning of the 
present century ; while Franz Verseghi, the last of the clas- 
sical Hungarian poets, died but a few years ago. 

After the French and the classic, the composite school of 
Magyar poetry arose. It began with Franz Kazinzy, a native 
writer of considerable originality and talent, though not very 
deep. He is celebrated for his skill in versification. He wrote 
in the lyric and the epigrammatic style. He followed neither 
the French nor the classic taste exclusively, but whatever 
seemed to him best suited to the topic he had in hand ; and 
generally, indeed, the influence of all the reigning modes was 
at once exhibited in his songs. His principal supporters and 
successors were Michael Yitez Esokonai, a popular song-writer, 
Andrew Fay, the humorous fabulist, Paul Szmere, the de- 
lightful singer, Daniel Berzsenyi, a most talented and glowing 
■^^riter of high lyric poetry, and Alexander S. Kisfaludy, who, 
as a composer of ballads, is regarded by the Hungarians as 
their Thomas Moore. Kisfaludy, like Walter Scott, had ac- 
quired a universal popularity in his native country before his 
real name was known. His amorous songs, collected under 
the anonym of Mionsys, are yet sung by the peasantry, as well 
as by the nobles, all over Hungary. Taken together, they 
constitute a sort of ballad epic, in which he sings his unsuc- 
cessful love to a certain Lisa, who listens to the soft petitions 
of another, and thus drives the poet to the wars. The soldier- 
bard, however, lives to see his Lisa again, after he had passed 
through many a bloody battle ; she, conquered at last by the 
singular perseverance of his devotion, gives him her hand and 
hearty and, the moment they are joined in happy wedlock, 
the lyre of the lover becomes more sonorous than ever, and 
rings with a melody, a variety, a power of expression, which 
it had never known before. The husband becomes more sober. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 103 

He studies the legends of his country, and lends them the 
charm of his rich verse ; and the close of his eventful life is 
devoted to another lyrical epic, the " G-yula Szerelme/' of ten 
cantos, which, with us, may have something like a counterpart 
in the Canterbury Tales. 

The genuine Hungarian school took its origin, perhaps, 
from the works of Daniel Berzenyi, in which is to be found a 
tone of decided patriotism, of profound nationality, which 
spurns at every thing foreign, not only in the thoughts, scenes 
and sentiments, but even in the choice of words. He was 
succeeded and emulated by Andreas Horvath, the author of a 
didactic poem in hexameter — " the Recollections of Zirez" — 
which, however, is greatly surpassed by his epic entitled 
"Arpad." The cotemporaries of Horvath, and poets of the 
same style, were Aloys Szentmiklossy, and Gabriel Diibrentei, 
two graceful lyric bards, one of whom, the latter, has acquired 
a European reputation. The fabulist, Michael Vitkovics, at- 
tained to popularity by making the animals, birds, reptiles and 
insects of Hungary employ the words of wisdom, while he 
seemed to forget that such men as ^sop and La Fontaine had 
ever had existence. After the death of Vitkovics, in 1829, 
sucb a host of patriotic poets sprang up in Hungary, the 
greater part of whom are even now just ripening into man- 
hood, that it will be impossible to name them all. Among 
the most eminent is Guadanyi, who, in comic narrative, is 
surpassed only by Alexander Kisfaludy. Karl Kisfaludy, the 
publisher and editor of the "Almanac of the Muses," is a 
young writer of decided promise. A young poet of the name 
of Kolcsey, of real genius, has recently made himself known 
as the introducer of the romance-ballad into Hungary. To 
these must be added the sonnet-writer, Bartay, the high lyrist, 
Baiza, a disciple of the German Gothe, Szenvey, a j^hilo- 
sophical poet after the style of Wordsworth and of Schiller, 
and Michael Vorosmarty, a very successflil miscellaneous 
writer, whose '■'■Foti-Dal" has become one of the national 



104 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

ballads, and may be heard from every bill-top and valley. 
Next to Vorosmarty, Gergely Ezuczor is tbe greatest epic poet 
of the nation ; and his numerous works, among which are his 
" Battle of Augsburgh/' his " Diet of Arad," his " Arpad," 
his " Defeat of the Cumanes/' his " Siege of Erlau/' and his 
" Magic Valley/' are at this time the pride and boast of every 
patriotic Magyar. The most popular lyric poet, of the pre- 
sent day, is Sandor Petofi, whose several ballads, the " Pearls 
of Love," "Cypress Leaves," and "Starless Nights," re- 
mind the American reader of our own Longfellow, though 
the Hungarian is scarcely a rival to the author of the 
" Voices." 

Though the Hungarians have raised up no Shakspeare, no 
Corneille, no Kacine, to impart a world-wide celebrity to their 
drama, they can mention some names, whose plays would do 
no dishonor, perhaps, to the royal theatres of London and 
of Paris. Mimics were known in Hungary at a very early 
period. The oldest national dramatic poem is the " Melchior 
Balassa," by Paul Karadi, of the year 1569, which was fol- 
lowed by the Clytemnestra of Bornemisza, a close imitation 
of Sophocles' Electra. In the year 1692, the Emperor Leo- 
pold gave to a citizen of Klausenburg the privilege of per- 
forming melo-dramas at the sessions of the National Assembly, 
in the camp, and at all festivals and fairs, with the proviso, 
however, that they were first to be submitted to a censorship. 
A work of this character is still extant, under the title of 
Comico-Tragedia, which treats of the contest between good 
and bad principles. Another, bearing the title of a "Tra- 
gedy of the Dispute between Jupiter and Plato," written by 
George Felvinczi, is yet read, though seldom performed, in 
Hungary. 

In the eighteenth century this original drama sank into 
oblivion, and a ngw era arose, which was not only ushered in 
but supported by the Jesuits. Plays were wi'itten for the 
colleges and schools ; and they were performed by the pupils 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 105 

and professors for the amusement of the public at the exami- 
nations, as similar trifles are occasionally exhibited, in our own 
country, at the present time. Though moral in their tendency, 
as works of genius they had no character, and they deserve no 
praise. Many of them, however, are still extant ; and the 
names of their authors are preserved. 

In 1790, the first licensed Hungarian dramatic troupe was 
organized ; and, in 1792, another received the royal sanction 
in Transylvania. Just prior to the recent revolution, in addi- 
tion to the great national theatre at Pesth, there were not less 
than twenty companies, perhaps as many as twenty-five, stroll- 
ing through the country and dragging the car of Thespis from 
one village to another. By the Magyars, they were regarded 
with great satisfaction, and welcomed even by the most reli- 
gious, because, whatever else they may have done, they were 
contributing powerfully to a resuscitation of the native lan- 
guage. It was at Buda, that the first building was erected 
expressly for the accommodation of a Hungarian theatrical 
company ; and, in 1834, in spite of the neglect of the Na- 
tional Assembly and the opposition of the imperial court, the 
second was reared at Pesth by the enthusiastic patriotism of 
the people. In 1839, when visited by an English traveler, 
this structure was lighted with gas, well furnished with stage- 
scenery, and occupied by a most successful and artistic troupe, 
of which La Schodel, the Lind of Hungary, was the acknow- 
ledged queen." The pieces acted are chiefly the productions 
of their native writers, among the earlier of whom the names 
of Simai, Sos, Szentjobi, Endrody and Dugonicz are the most 
conspicuous. The drama of the present day, if not rivaling 
that of England, of France, or of Germany, has certainly 

" This traveler, Miss Pardoe, speaks of Schodel as "the very 
incarnation of soul ;" — and says, in her lofty admiration, that the 
canlairice "pours out her voice as if by inspiration." And it must 
be remembered that the writer was accustomed to visit the best 
theatres in the world. — Cihj of the Magyar, vol. ii. p. 143. 



106 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

been creditably sustained by the works of Bessenyi, Alex- 
ander and Karl Kisfaludy, Vorosmarty, and several others 
of almost equal reputation. The greatest tragic writer of 
modern times, among the Hungarians, was Ezako, who died 
in 1847, and whom his countrymen compare with Shakspeare; 
and his cotemporary, Esato, who, at the last accounts, was yet 
surviving, is the author of the finest comedies in the language. 
In his " Tiger and the Hyena," Petofi, it is thought by critics, 
has passed over from the pure dramatic style to a sort of ro- 
mance ; and Eotvos, who has written some plays, is regarded 
as the living link between the fiction of the stage and the fic- 
tion of the closet.^* 

The Sir Walter Scott of Hungary, however, is the much- 
read, much-admired, and justly-celebrated Nicolaus Josika, to 
whom even his G-erman critics award the very highest talent. 
His skill in technical composition is universally applauded. 
He makes his characters speak, not his language, but their 
own peculiar dialect. From the shepherd to the prince, he 
seems to understand, not simply the passions and principles 
of every clan and class of his numerous countrymen, but ex- 
actly the words which every one of them would use on every 
supposable occasion. His fancy is equal to his knowledge ; 
and he works up his materials in a most effective manner. 
His predecessors in the same department — Kourgi, Dugonicz, 
Guadanyi, Kuthy and Kovacz — have been entirely eclipsed by 
him ; and Joseph Eotvos, who, in his " Village Notary," has 
finely painted the life of a small officer, as well as Ignaz Nagy, 
whose " Secrets of Hungary" has vividly portrayed the un- 
changeable character and habits of the Jews, are not to be 

" Literatur-Geschiclite der Welt, Ton Dr. Johann George Theo- 
dore Grasse, Biblothecar seiner Majestat des Konigsvon Sachsen. 
Leipsig, 1848. The article on the Hungarian Drama excellently 
translated by that elegant scholar, Professor William Wells of Cm- 
cinnati, to -whose paper, on a kindred subject, in the Feb. No. of tlie 
Ladies' Repository for 1851, I am also somewhat indebted. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 107 

compared witli their great rival. Josika is a name to be re- 
membered. 

In almost every other country, ballads and romances have 
been the earliest of their literary efforts; but, in Hungary, 
though songs are ancient, novel-writing is the very latest form, 
which has been assumed by the literature of the nation. Late 
as it is, however, it has risen rapidly to the first place in 
quality, quantity and importance. Novels are now more read 
in Hungary than all other styles of writing. In 1838, there 
were two hundred and twenty-one works, from the paper- 
covered pamphlet to the full-bound volume, published in the 
native language, of which eighty-five were works of taste and 
fancy. *^ 

It must not be imagined by the reader, who has had interest 
enough in this new and untrodden field of literature to work 
his way through the wilderness of names and dates, which, to 
be just to Hungary, it was necessary at least to point out to 
him, that the land of the Magyar, in spite of what has been 
hitherto said of it, is a land of the highest literary cultivation. 
It has produced names and works enough, it is true, to give it 
a marked position among the most enlightened countries ; but 
there is only here and there an individual, out of the untold 
number of its writers, whose performances have had sufficient 
power to break the barriers of the nation and its language, 
and thus pass into general notoriety. Of the first class of 
authors, such as Milton, and Shakspeare, and Addison, Hun- 
gary has as yet produced not even one. Of the second class, 
in which our Dryden, and Pope, and Johnson, and Irving, and 
Bryant may be found, she has produced a few. Of the third, 
which, in every country, embraces the mass of its respectable 
writers, she has produced many of deserved renown. Between 
this very honorable class, who deal in books, and the very 
lowest, who get their names into the lists of authorship for 

" City of the Magyar, vol. iii. p. 92. 



108 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

having published a pamphlet, a play, a poem, an essay, a ser- 
mon, or a speech, she has produced a countless multitude, 
who, when taken in the aggregate, show well for the literary 
spirit of the nation. 

It is not the authorship of Hungary, however, that givea 
her the highest claim to regard as an associate in the republic 
of letters. It is rather that she has acquired a taste for this 
profession and an ambition for this fellowship. If she does 
not now produce the first class of books, she has reached the 
point next below this lofty elevation. She reads them. The 
works of Grothe and Johnson, of Corneille and Camoens, of 
Burns and Byron, of Schiller and Shakspeare, are as much 
known in Pressburg, and as correctly criticised, as in London, 
Leipsic, or Lisbon. At Pesth there is a grand Casino, or 
reading-room, supplied with all the great quarterlies, maga- 
zines and newspapers of modern Europe ; and on the bights 
of Buda, where the soldiery of Trajan were once mustered, 
the speeches of Cass and Canning, of Webster and Wilber- 
force, have been and are yet as commonly discussed, as in 
Westminster, or in Washington. 

Decidedly the most promising trait, nevertheless, in the 
literary character of the Hungarians, is the one which consti- 
tutes the salient and closing topic of this chapter. It has 
come to see its ovra political importance. The great writers, 
in poetry and in prose, in philosophy and in science, in history 
and in belles-lettres, now fully understand, that the existence 
of the nation is only a part of the existence of its literature 
and language. They clearly perceive, that, should their lan- 
guage ever go out of use, the Magyars would instantly become 
Germans. We shall hereafter witness the connection of this 
feeling with the revolutionary history of the kingdom. One 
thing we can easily appreciate at this moment. We can be- 
hold the wonderful vitality of a language, which, in the very 
midst of a maelstrom of other languages, and repeatedly over- 
whelmed by successive waves and floods of them, has been 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 109 

able to hold on to life, and recently to put forth the mani- 
festations of unabated activity and strength. As the nation, 
also, is now unanimously .determined to preserve and per- 
petuate the language, so, if this determination is successful, 
the language will infallibly preserve and perpetuate the 
nation. 



10 



110 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTEK V. 

THE HUNGARIAN CONSTITUTION. 

The Hungarians, wtile living in their north-eastern home 
among the tribes of the Caucasus, are described by their na- 
tive historians as a gentle, temperate, pastoral people, giving 
ofiFence to no one, and taking it only after sufficient provoca- 
tion.^ Before their emigration from that country, however, 
they were compelled to become more warlike by the frequent 
attacks made upon them by the natives ; and, in their subse- 
quent wanderings toward the west, and particularly by their 
frequent encounters with the Alani and other fierce nations of 
the European forests, they progressed so rapidly in their mili- 
tary education, that, on their entrance into Hungary, they 
were regarded by the inhabitants, as well as by the Grreeks, 
as the most martial and savage of barbarians. 

The G-reek emperor, Leo the Wise, has given a very graphic 
sketch of their appearance, manners, and spirit at that period. 
" The Hungarians,'' says the imperial historian, " are from 
their childhood horsemen. They do not like to walk. On 
their shoulders they carry long lances and spears — in their 
hands the bow ; and they can use these weapons very skilfully. 
Their breasts, and the breasts of their horses, are protected by 
a breastplate of iron or of skins. Accustomed to fight with 
the arrow and the bow, they do not willingly come into close 
contact, but make battle from a distance. They attend care- 
fully to every thing about them, but keep their own intentions 
very secret. They place numerous watches before their camp, 

' Gescliichte der Ungarn, by M. Horvath, Pesth, 1850, Part First, 
sec. ii. I 4, p. 14. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. Ill 

one quite separate from another, on whieli account it is diffi- 
cult to surprise them. In battle, they divide their army into 
small companies, each containing about a thousand men, to 
which they give positions not far distant from each other. 
They have also a reserve corps, with which, if it is not brought 
into action, they lay snares for the enemy, or give needful 
succor to the yielding or thinned battalions. Their baggage 
they leave a mile or two on one side of the army, under the 
protection of a small detachment. It is a principal care not 
to extend their lines too much in breadth. Their single bat- 
talions are consequently deep, their front straight and dense. 
Their snares are laid by spreading the two wings of the army, 
and encircling the enemy, or by feigned retreats and quick 
returns. If the enemy flees, they pursue him as long as their 
horses can keep up the pursuit, or until they have annihilated 
their antagonist. Afterwards, they seek the booty. If the 
flying enemy retreats into a fortress, they watch for the suc- 
cors to be sent him, and compel him either to surrender or 
capitulate."^ 

When not in war, the Hungarians spent their time in fish- 
ing, in hunting, and in pasturing cattle. With agriculture 
they had no acquaintance ; and they knew only enough of 
mechanical trades to make their weapons and their clothing. 
When the pasturing grounds at any place were run over, they 
abandoned them for fresh localities, taking with them their 
tents, their herds, and all their property.^ 

So true wete the ancient Magyars to the spirit of civil 
liberty, that, just as they were about to enter upon the subju- 
gation of their new country, they called a general assembly 
of the people, discussed the political wants of the nation, and 
laid down the foundation of a free and popular constitution. 



^ Tact. cap. ii., Leo Sap. 

' Horvath enumerates smiths, sword-makers, shoemakers, and 
manufacturers of bows. Part First, sec. ii. § 4. 



112 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The wtole immigration, consisting of about one million of 
souls, had been divided by their first leader, Lebed,* into one 
hundred and eight tribes ; and these tribes had been subse- 
quently distributed into seven grand divisions, which, though 
entirely independent of each other in their private affairs, 
lived together as one people in the form of a general confede- 
ration. Each grand division acknowledged the supremacy of 
one principal leader, or duke, called a woiwode; and a con- 
vention of the woiwodes constituted the highest assembly, and 
exercised the supreme authority, of the nation. When met 
for the transaction of business, one of their number was elected 
temporary Oberhaupt, or chief, to whom this election gave no 
new powers as an officer of the government, but whose duty 
it was merely to preside in the assembly while in session. 
The convention of the woiwodes was not, in the usual sense, 
a, legislative body ; for it could make no laws, or regulations, 
binding upon the divisions, which aflPected their private busi- 
ness. Each division had its own municipal institutions ; and 
each woiwode, when sitting in council with his equals, repre- 
sented the predetermined wishes of his constituents. A ma- 
jority of suffrages, however, in the assembly of the dukes, 
always gave direction to the federal operations of the nation, 
which embraced every question in which all the divisions were 
equally interested. 

This republican mode of government, to which the Magyars 
seem to have been strongly attached from the very beginning 
of their history, with all its high value to a people sufficiently 
civilized to enjoy it, needed, in those warlike and barbarous 
times, a central power above that of a mere chairman of a 
chief assembly, and above the authority of a modern presi- 
dent, to give it promptness and energy of action. Necessity, 



" The Greek historiographers, as well as the Hungarian Thuroczy, 
make Arpad the first leader ; but Fessler, Horvath, and all the re- 
maining Magyar historians give this distinction to Lebed. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 113 

which has been the creator and finisher of all constitutions, 
soon taught the Hungarians, that, unless some such central 
force was added to their popular confederation, their hoped 
success in the great undertaking of the nation, of searching 
out and subduing a new fatherland, in the face of vigilant and 
powerful enemies, would be impossible. Accordingly, just 
prior to their great irruption into Hungary, in a special con- 
vention of the woiwodes, and in the pi'esence of the whole 
people, the deficiency was supplied by the election of a per- 
petual and hereditary Oberhaupt, or first duke, with whom 
the electors made a covenant in the most sacred and solemn 
manner. Each woiwode opened a vein in one of his arms. 
The blood thus shed, caught in a convenient vessel, was drank 
by the contracting parties. The ballots were then thrown, 
probably into the same vessel, for the new officer. The lot 
fell on Almos, one of their own number, whose bravery in 
battle, whose sagacity as a counseler, and whose virtues as a 
man, had marked him out as the one most fit for the enviable 
position. " From this day," said the woiwodes to Almos, 
" we elect you our head-chief and commander j and, wherever 
your fortunes lead you, we will follow."* 

While the authority of the newly-elected officer was yet re- 
cent, and before it could become forgetful of the source from 
which it had arisen, the woiwodes took care to mark out dis- 
tinctly the principal features of this reformed constitution of 
the Hungarian nation. In another convention of their num- 
ber, with their Oberhaupt before them, they agreed upon and 
ratified the following stipulations : 1. That, from that day, the 
Oberhaupt should forever be elected from the family of Almos. 
2. That, whatever should be acquired in their military expe- 
ditions, should be divided among the woiwodes, as the repre- 
sentatives of their respective divisions, according to their 
merits. 3. That the woiwodes, who had voluntarily elected 



' Horvath, Geschichte der Ungarn, Part First, sec. i. p. 8. 
10* 



114 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Almos their Oberliaupt and commander, as well as the de- 
scendants of the woiwodes, should never be excluded by 
Almos, or by his successors, from the council of the com- 
mander, nor from the government of the fatherland. 4. That, 
should any of the woiwodes, or their descendants, break this 
covenant with the commander-in-chief, or sow discord among 
the woiwodes, his blood should be shed as the blood of the 
covenanting parties was then shed, while ratifying the national 
compact. 5. That, on the other hand, should the descendants 
of any of the Oberhaupts, or commanders-in-chief, or the de- 
scendants of any of the existing leaders (Stammhaupter) of 
the tribes, break this mutual pledge, the curse of outlawry 
should at once seize them ; the curse should never be removed 
from such criminals, but rest on them eternally; and, of course, 
they were not only to be degraded from their offices, but ex- 
cluded from the commonwealth by an act of irrevocable ban- 
ishment. ^ 

Under this modification of the original constitution of the 
country, there would seem to have been at least four classes, 
or estates, recognised by law. The Oberhaupt, or commander, 
the woiwodes, the officers under the woiwodes, who were the 
leaders of the tribes, and the common soldiery, are expressly 
mentioned. It is probable, also, from what appears to be in- 
evitable to a nation passing from one country to another, that 
the soldiers by no means constituted the whole, if they did a 
majority, of the migrating horde; but that, led onward and 
defended by the warriors of the tribes, the great mass of the 
population, for various disabilities not prepared to fight, per- 
formed what other services they could, and were glad enough 
to be acknowledged as the useful, though somewhat servile, 
kindred of their armed and victorious brethren. While in 
the act of emigration, this portion of the people would feel 
themselves sufficiently compensated for any thing they could 

° Horvath, Geschichte der Ungarn, Part First, sec. i. p. 8. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 115 

do, by receiving their necessary food, clothing, and protection. 
They would not claim any right of giving directions, or mak- 
ing rules and regulations, or performing any of the functions 
of government, or of legislation. By the force of their cir- 
cumstances, without any thought on their part, and without 
any design on the part of their superiors, they would naturally 
acknowledge themselves to be simply peasants, or countrymen, 
who claim none of the rights of sovereignty, because they can 
do nothing of consequence for the sovereign. 

The National Assembly would, therefore, be divided into 
two branches, though, in the transaction of business, they 
might meet together. The commander-in-chief, and the woi- 
wodes by whom he was elected, would make one division. 
The leaders of the tribes, who were also officers of the army, 
and who were undoubtedly chosen by their military subordi- 
nates, would constitute the other. The inferior but more nu- 
merous branch, coming more directly from the body of the 
people, would naturally be regarded as the popular portion of 
the Assembly, while the king and his constituents would be 
looked upon as the aristocratic. 

Arpad, the successor and the son of Almos, was the Joshua 
of the wandering Magyars. He led them into their country. 
For five years he fought the natives, and, at last, conquered 
them. He divided the land among his followers. But he 
had no sooner taken possession of the subjugated region, than 
he saw the impossibility of maintaining the supremacy of his 
race, without making radical improvements in the constitution 
of the nation. Consequently, calling in all the armies, which 
had been carrying the terror of the Hungarian name to the 
confines of Europe, he made a grand assembly of all the heads 
of the tribes on the Pustza Szeren, a beautiful plain near the 
banks of the Theiss, and, after a consultation of thirty-four 
days, gave to his people the third revision of the great charter 
of their liberties and institutions. Only one ancient author 
has spoken definitely of the results of this long deliberation ; 



116 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

and lie is not known by name, thougla his extant productions 
are familiar to modern historians under the signature of the 
"anonymous" or "secret writer." He expressly declares, 
that, in the assembly here mentioned, " the rights and duties 
of the people, as well as the relations existing between them, 
the nobility and the prince, were more accurately set forth 
than they had been ; that judges were appointed ; and that 
the execution of the laws, and penalties for infracting them, 
were established."'' 

Though this account is extremely brief, it is long enough to 
convince the native historians of the country, that the division 
of the whole territory then conquered, as well as the entire 
system of municipal self-government, were at this time par- 
ticularly secured to the Hungarian nation. It was the special 
care of Arpad, also, in the distribution of the lands, to raise 
up a class of servants capable of defending him and his suc- 
cessors against the heads of the tribes, and against the woi- 
wodes, who, not forgetting how the commander-in-chief came 
by his great authority, had always conducted themselves to- 
ward him with too much independence, and sometimes with 
insolence. Without directly breaking any one of the five 
stipulations of the national compact, he effectually reduced 
the importance of these princes, by giving princely possessions 
to the most worthy and faithful of the people, who, not hoping 
to rival his influence, but looking to him for protection against 
the heads of the tribes and the woiwodes themselves, by whom 
the people were more directly governed, would have no interest 
opposite to his power and grandeur. All the castles of the 
country, with the extensive circumjacent regions belonging to 
them, Arpad took into his own hands, as the rightful property 
of the commander, whose duty it was to defend his subjects 
against domestic and foreign enemies. These numerous and 
valuable state domains he could not expect to hold in his own 

' Horvath, GescMclite der Ungarn, Part First, sec. ii. ^ 3, p. 12. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 117 

person ; nor could he deny the justice of the claim set up by 
the woiwodes and leaders, that, as the castles were seized by 
him as military fortresses, the possession if not the property 
of them was rightfully due to themselves, as his representa- 
tives in peace, and his adjutants and officers in war ; but he 
was careful under what title he gave them the occupancy and 
management of such vast estates. He acknowledged them 
only as his agents, subsequently called comites castri, em- 
powered to hold these national properties in his name, but 
claimed for himself the prerogative to change his representa- 
tives at pleasure, whenever he should find a change necessary 
to the public good. Thus, without saying so, he made all the 
castles of the country really his own property, and the pro- 
perty of his descendants, by which his and their authority was 
secured and established for all time to come. 

If the castles were to be the points d'apui of the Hun- 
garian system of defence ; if the officers holding them were 
to be regarded, in a period of war, as the military representa- 
tives of the reigning commander, the soldiers ought to be 
settled near at hand, that they might be ready when an emer- 
gency should arise. Such was the order of the great Arpad ; 
but, not satisfied with the existing establishment, which he had 
received from his father Almos, he instituted another army, 
by granting lands to those of his subjects, who were willing 
to become soldiers. This new army, which received its being 
and consequence from him, as well as the means of their indi- 
vidual subsistence in times of peace, though not set off into a 
separate corps, was ready to consider itself, nevertheless, not 
only as the defenders of their country, but as the special sup- 
porters of their prince. 

This artful commander raised up another class of personal 
friends, whose descendants would be equally friendly to his 
dynasty, by giving lands to such worthy foreigners as had been 
found in the country at the conquest, and by offering similar 
grants to all others, of free and gentle birth, who might wish 



118 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

to leave their respective homes and become his subjects. In 
this way, he enriched his fatherland by the introduction of 
many thousands of the most enterprising citizens of the sur- 
rounding countries, at the same time that he added great 
strength and perpetuity to his own position. 

Arpad, however, was as just and humane, as he was politic 
and ambitious. While engaged in subduing the mountains 
and the plains of Hungary, the majority of its population, it 
is true, had opposed him ; they had fought hundreds of the 
bloodiest of battles to break his progress; they had protracted 
the struggle to a five years' war, and exercised a ferocious dis- 
position towards the advancing Hungarians. A portion of the 
inhabitants, however, had made no resistance. To these, who, 
by the undiscriminating victors, were all known as Sclaves, he 
awarded personal freedom and their former properties and 
possessions. Such of them as had been magnates, were to 
be magnates still, whether they were really Sclaves, Goths, 
Scythians, or Komans. None, indeed, were reduced to servi- 
tude, but such as had actually fought against him, together 
with such persons of his own army as had been convicted of 
treason to his authority.^ 

Such, however, was the extent of the conquered country, 
compared with the number of those among whom it was thus 
distributed, that each recipient obtained a much larger grant 
than he could himself occupy. Nor, in fact, did he need to 
cultivate his own grounds; for, by the very side of him, 
though below him, there was a numerous class of his country- 
men, who, as explained before, offered no claims to the tem- 
tory into which they had been conducted. The land-owners, 
therefore, had only to cut up their respective tracts into con- 



° When the Hungarians entered the country they found serfdom 
in general practice, the serfs being, probably, the subjected inhabit- 
ants of the successive conquests. Fessler's Die Geschichte der 
Ungern, Erster Band, sec. 323. 



HUNGARY AND' KOSSUTH. 119 

venient sections, and invite the unlanded population to settle 
down upon them. The terms of settlement were not, at that 
time, onerous. The doing of a little homage to the landlord, 
and the payment of a small rent-tax, gave the poor tenant a 
hereditary right to the usufruct of the soil he cultivated. 

In the year 907, of the Christian era, Arpad, the most 
celebrated of all the Hungarian dukes, was carried to his grave 
amidst the regrets of a prosperous and contented people. 
Three of his successors. Sultan, Taksony, and Geisa, made no 
essential changes with the constitution thus established. The 
fourth, however, who was no less a personage than the re- 
nowned St. Stephen, may be regarded as the Solon of his 
nation. In the seventh year after his election, which took 
place in the autumn of 993, he became a convert to the 
Christian faith, and acknowledged the supremacy of the reign- 
ing pontiff. That pontiff encouraged his disciple to discard 
the old name of Oberhaupt, or duke, and put on the splendor 
of the regal title. Stephen was not an unwilling auditor to 
the arguments bestowed upon him; and he may not have 
seen the papal design of using him as a petted ally of the 
Vatican against the unchristian ambition of the Grerman em- 
perors. A golden crown, fabricated by the hands of angels, 
and sent to the pious successor of St. Peter by a celestial 
messenger, was delivered by human hands to Stephen. The 
royal novitiate received the gift with becoming gratitude; and, 
supported by the influence of the pope, as well as by that 
of his countrymen, who had made a profession of Christianity, 
and against a violent opposition set up by his pagan subjects, 
he undertook and completed a thorough revision of the Hun- 
garian constitution. 

Under his predecessors since the time of Arpad, the power 
of the magnates had been greatly weakened, while the royal 
authority had become more and more robust and settled. 
Still, it was quite evident to Stephen, as it must have been to 
any one having to perform his duties, that a yet greater cen- 



120 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tralization of power was demanded, unless the government 
should go back to that unlimited democracy, which, from 
actual necessity, had been willingly relinquished to his an- 
cestor, Almos. Such a democracy, in a country the majority 
of whose population were ignorant and quite barbarous pea- 
sants, would have been certain ruin to every thing bearing the 
name of government ; and if a monarchy was to exist at all, 
or meet the condition of such a heterogeneous and unculti- 
vated people, it must have power enough to command the re- 
spect and obedience of all classes. When it is considered, 
also, that the era of this revisal of the Hungarian constitution 
was the same as that in which a feudal tyranny was established 
in Great Britain, the reader will be prepared to respect, rather 
than criticise, the charter of Magyar nationality, of which it 
is not difl&cult to give the leading propositions : 

1. The throne of Hungary was secured forever to the family 
of Arpad. The king was to be the head of that portion of the 
Christian church which had been, or should be, established 
within his dominions. He was to possess the power of veto- 
ing every enactment of the National Assembly, or Diet, with- 
out the designation of his reasons. He was to be capable of 
declaring war and peace. He, alone, could grant patents of 
nobility ; and whatever property fell, by confiscation, to the 
state, was to be again given out by him to such persons as he 
might select to be the recipients of the royal bounty. 

2. The judicial system was very simple. The king, by 
virtue of his office, was to be supreme judge throughout the 
kingdom. There was to be no appeal beyond his decision. 
To assist him in the administration of justice, as well as to 
represent his entire authority where he could not be present, 
he created a new officer, unknown to the constitution of Arpad, 
called by the Latin name of Palatine, because he was to be 
the first minister of the palace. The Palatine was to accom- 
pany the monarch, in all his judicial expeditions, to give him 
such aid as might be needful ; and when the king should be 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 121 

otherwise employed; or sick, or too infirm for active life, his 
place on the bench was to be supplied by the presence of his 
chief servant. The kingdom, however, might so increase in 
magnitude and population^ and the business of this depart- 
ment might be so greatly multiplied in consequence of this 
growth, that the Palatine himself would not be sufficient for 
the demands of speedy and equal justice. An assistant judge, 
recognised by the German historians of the country under the 
name of Hofrichter, but more familiarly known to the Magyar 
lawyers by the Latin title of comes ctirice regice, was, there- 
fore, appointed for each grand subdivision of the kingdom, 
called a county. For all trivial causes arising within a county, 
which were beneath the dignity of the higher judges, or too 
numerous for their personal attention, two inferior magistrates, 
entitled judices regales, were created. The course of appeal 
was always from the lower to the next higher court, till a 
cause had reached the ears of majesty, beyond whose supreme 
tribunal it was impossible to go. The royal decree was final. 
3. The National Assembly, or Diet, originally composed of 
all the woiwodes, leaders and officers of the nation, was now 
to consist of the nobility, of which there were three orders. 
The first rank had been conferred, by the grateful and pious 
king, upon the ministers of the new religion, who, as mis- 
sionaries from Rome, had endured incredible hardships in their 
glorious work of converting a country of pagans to the gospel. 
Next to the clergy were the descendants of the woiwodes, 
leaders and officers of the tribes — Volkshaupter and Stamm- 
haupter — who are known in the decrees of Stephen, as well as 
in the modern nomenclature of the law-books, as seniores 
domini, whose nobility descended to them with their blood.^ 
The third order, called nohiles servientes regales, included all 
other freemen, who were to exercise the right of suffrage. 



* In Hungai'ian Latin tliey are styled Jobbaffyones regis. Geschichte 
der Ungarn, Part Second, c. i. sec. i. p. 34. 

11 



122 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The practice of electing delegates to the assembly, however, 
was at that time unknown. All the noblemen, of every rank, 
could claim their place, when the nation met for the purposes 
of legislation; but it was not the custom, nevertheless, in 
that early day, to hold so general a convention of legislators. 
"Wherever the monarch, or the Palatine, happened to make 
any stay, in the course of their official progresses, it was their 
habit to call together as many of the members of these three 
estates, as lived within a convenient distance, and lay before 
them such questions as might have arisen in their respective 
neighborhoods. This mode of legislation, though extremely 
inartificial, was quite equal to the wants of a simple, upright, 
and unsophisticated people ; and, under a wise and good king 
like Stephen, it was as likely as any other to result in judicious 
arrangements, as no decision of the Assembly could become a 
law without the sanction of the monarch. 

4. To perpetuate the existence and powers of the nobility, 
the new constitution protected their persons, by express sta- 
tute, against all arbitrary arrests, though such arrests might be 
issued by the crown itself. In France, at a much later period, 
a royal lettre de cacliet could put under custody, for a given 
time, the highest nobleman of the kingdom, without carrying 
upon its face the reasons of the act. In England, the personal 
liberty of the citizen was not secm-ed till the year 1215, more 
than two centuries after this right was established in Hungary 
by the constitution of Stephen ; and, in spite of the Magna 
Charta, by which the immunity was acknowledged to all 
English subjects, it was practically nullified by the kings of 
England till the beginning of the seventeenth century. The 
arbitrary imprisonments by the privy council, in the reign even 
of Elizabeth, have been lamented by modern historians and 
civilians.^" In Hungary, on the contrary, there never was a 

'° Hallam's Constitutionul History of England, vol. i. pp. 307-320, 
and Kent's Commentaries, vol. ii. part iv. pp. 26-87. 



HUNGARY ANB KOSSUTH. 128 

time when the citizen could be deprived of his personal liberty, 
excepting for an open insult to majesty or for treasonable con- 
duct. The property, also, of the citizen was made absolutely 
inalienable, unless forfeited to the state by the crime of trea- 
son. The lower nobility, who had hitherto been subject to 
the Volkshaupter and Stammhaupter, or leaders of the tribes 
and people, were hereafter to be amenable, like the higher 
nobles, only to the monarch and his official representatives. 

5. The military settlements, which had been made by Arpad 
around the castles, were to receive justice from the hands of a 
distinct class of officers, called comites castri, or by the synony- 
mous but inelegant German appellation of Burggrafen ; and 
for the defence of both the castles, and their circumjacent 
colonies, he raised up an order of knights, which the Hun- 
garians entitled jobha(jgyone& castri, but to whom the Grermans 
have given the characteristic cognomen of Burgunterthanen. 
They were to be entirely equal, in their privileges, to the other 
orders of nobility. Large properties were assigned them, out 
of the lands pertaining to the castles, the usufruct of which 
they were to have forever, by the payment of half of the pro- 
duce to the Burggraf, who, after deducting a third part of this 
moiety for himself, delivered the balance to the king." For 
their privileges, this class of noblemen were to be obligated, 
for all time, to defend the castles, and the lands and people 
belonging to them, from foreign invasion ; and the better to 
carry out this purpose, they were arranged into battalions of 
one hundred, and these into companies of ten, under the 
general leadership of the Burggraf, whose subordinate repre- 
sentatives, called comites parocliiani, controlled the smaller 
sections, and attended to the details of the command both in 
peace and war. 

" If the Burggi'af cheated the monarch of his dues, he was com- 
pelled to pay, as penalty, double the amount of the injury, besides 
making restitution. That is, he restored threefold. Stephani De- 
creta II. c. xliL 



124 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

6. Under the same jurisdiction were placed all those, who 
cultivated the domains belonging personally to the king, and 
of whom there were several grades. One class, denominated 
by the Magyars Udvannoh, by the Germans Hofdiener, as rent- 
service for their lands, were to serve the king in whatever 
way he might desire, whenever he should visit the districts 
where they lived. Another class were the Tarnoh, or Auf- 
bewahrer, who had charge of the king's granaries and maga- 
zines, and were bound to pay implicit and perpetual obedience 
to his word. A third class were the royal grooms, or Pferde- 
hiiter, who were to keep the king's stables, and, it is probable, 
were to have the general oversight of his flocks and herds. 
The last of all were the vinitores, or vinedressers, who, in 
addition to the duty of furnishing the monarch with his sup- 
plies of wine, were to provide his table with every thing 
necessary to a royal board. 

7. That portion of the population, which lived oil. the estates 
belonging to the nobility, were to be subject to their own land- 
lords, though the property of the castles and the jurisdiction 
of the Burggrafen might, in some cases, extend beyond them. 
The nobles, imitating the manners of the king, were to hold 
their own courts, try whatever causes might arise among their 
tenants, and execute justice in their own way without the 
slightest interference from higher powers. Difficulties might 
occur, it is true, between the tenants, or peasantiy, and the 
landlord himself; but such were to be settled as distui'bances 
are allayed between a, father and his children. There was no 
tribunal established by the monarch for the adjudication of 
such causes. The tenants were to share the produce of the 
lands cultivated by them with their masters, attend them in 
arms when commanded to do so, and do many other services, 
of a menial character, which might be called for at the courts 
and palaces of their manors. 

8. Besides those inhabiting the possessions of the king and 
nobles, there was a large and respectable class of people, who 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 125 

were denominated freemen. It consisted of persons manu- 
mitted from servitude by their landlords, called duschenici, 
and of immigrants from foreign countries, who were regarded 
as the guests — Jiospites — of the nation. They might hold any 
kind or any amount of property, as if they were the highest 
nobles of the country, by paying a small tribute — liberorum 
denarii — into the royal exchequer. Their persons were as 
inviolable as that of the wealthiest, or mightiest, nobleman. 
They were a much favored class. From the first, a uniformity 
of condition, as well as a common interest, induced them to 
settle down in groups, wherever they could find localities favor- 
able to business. From these settlements have arisen the 
Hungarian cities. 

9. It was the policy of Stephen to propagate Christianity, 
not by the sword, or by any open force, but by incorporating 
it into the constitution of his country. An outward homage 
to it, which passed for a profession, was the basis of the right, 
even in the noble, of holding landed property ; and the chap- 
ters of the various episcopal dioceses were allowed to try cer- 
tain civil causes, particularly those pertaining to inheritance 
and doweries, which properly belonged to the ordinary tribu- 
nals. As noblemen, therefore, the bishops had a seat in the 
National Assembly, and had great influence in making the laws 
of the land; as judges, they held a most conspicuous and 
powerful position, having the prerogative, in the most import- 
ant topics of litigation, to determine the meaning and appli- 
cation of the laws when made ; as large land-owners, with a 
vast number of the peasantry directly under them, they were 
equal to the highest magnates as citizens of the country ; and, 
as ministers of the gospel, who were then supposed to have 
the authority to bind or loose the lofty and the low alike, and 
that for time and eternity, they exercised a power over and 
above the powers of all the other classes. 

10. The mode established for trying causes in all the courts, 
but especially in that where the king presided, was very singu- 

11* 



126 HUNQARY AND KOSSUTH. 

lar. A suit was opened by listening to the private statements 
of the parties. The points of agreement between the two state- 
ments, when closely compared by the judge, were stricken out. 
The next business of the bench wag to increase the points of 
agreement, as far as it was possible, by putting questions and 
cross-questions to the litigants. The disagreements left, after 
this process had been carried to its utmost, were then examined, 
each party being allowed to sustain his report of facts by the 
testimony of sworn witnesses. The witnesses, however, could 
not be picked up at random. Only a freeman could give evi- 
dence against a freeman ; against an ecclesiastic, only an ec- 
clesiastic; and the same of every rank of the entire population. 
When a suit was acknowledged by the judge to have a genuine 
foundation, but, after all the testimony had been rendered, was 
regarded as yet doubtful, the disputants were allowed to decide 
it by what were then called God's judgments, which had been 
recommended to the king by the pope's ministers. He, who 
could hold a hot iron longest in his naked hand, or stand 
longest in a cauldron of hot water, or sit longest on some 
sharp instrument of torture, was declared victor. It was an 
unusual but perhaps salutary provision, that the lower judges 
had to answer for their decisions, if complained of by either 
of the parties at any time litigating before them ; but, in case 
their sentence should be confirmed by the higher court, the 
complainant had to pay them a heavy sum of money. 

11. Nothing was more singular, however, than the punish- 
ments fixed by Stephen for offences. The general principle 
followed by him seems to have been the lex talionis, which he 
had found in the works of Moses, and to which popery had 
given a- revived existence in nearly all Christian countries." 
Some crimes, nevertheless, it is impossible to punish by retalia-- 
tion. It was, therefore, ordered by the monarch, that traitors, 
calumniators of the king and nobles, and thieves who had 
been caught the third time in the act of stealing, should suifer 
death. Murderers, excepting one class of them, were not 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 127 

hung, or punished capitally at all ; but they paid the penalty 
of their crimes with money. The class excepted were those 
who took the lives of their victims by the use of swords ; for 
the papal missionaries read the mandate to the king, which, 
according to their custom, they interpreted literally, " he that 
taketh the sword shall perish by the sword." For murdering 
his wife, a count paid fifty oxen; a nobleman, ten oxen; a 
Burgunterthan, five oxen. For the murder of a citizen, the 
freeman paid one hundred and ten pieces of gold to the near- 
est relatives. Incendiarism, perjury, the disturbing of the 
public peace, and stealing other men's wives, could be atoned 
for by the payment of fines, by fasting, and by passing through 
the prescribed penances of the church. The right of asylum, 
that bane of civil society in the middle ages, was extended to 
all crimes, excepting treason. The murderer, the robber, 
the thief, after perpetrating his iniquities, if pursued by the 
officers of the law, had only to flee to a church, to the king's 
court, or to some sacred place, and no law could touch 
him.^ 

12. In return for being entirely exempted from taxation, 
excepting as the products of the soil contributed by the pea- 
santry were in part the landlord's property, the nobility were 
to be wholly responsible for the defence of the country against 
internal and external enemies. Every nobleman was by ne- 



" This right of asylum is a pagan institution, and was recognised 
by the Greeks and Romans, who, when determined to pimish the 
culprit taking refuge, would starve him to death by cutting off all 
supplies of food, as in the memoralile case of Pausanias, or even 
burn down the building into which he had fled for shelter. With 
many other pagan ceremonies, the practice was adopted by the 
Catholics, from whom it spread into all modern countries. Pope 
Pius the Seventh was compelled to abolish it in his dominions ; but 
his successor, Leo the Tenth, had the courage and the power to re- 
vive it. It was at once banished from most Protestant nations by 
the genius and spirit of the Reformation. 



128 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

cessity a soldier. He was not permitted to employ a proxy. 
At the command of the king, he must equip himself, and go 
off to the field of battle. While his tenants were tilling his 
lands, and procuring the means of his support, he was justly 
held responsible for their safety. In this way, and not very 
unequally in that martial age, were the burdens of society 
distributed. If there was any difference, it was decidedly in 
favor of the peasant, who, unless he held lands in connection 
with a castle, or under a special military obligation, could ex- 
pect to live in peace, and quietude, and plenty, even when his 
superiors were fighting, and toiling, and starving in the camp, 
or perishing by the hand of his country's enemies. The 
clergy themselves were bound to the same hard duty. Two 
armies, the royal and the national, were established by the 
monarch. The royal army consisted of the Burgunterthanen, 
led to the field by their Burggrafen, of those immigrants to 
whom the king had given lands on the condition of their per- 
forming military service, and of all others who had received 
substantial favors from the monarch, whether in the shape of 
property or of titles, with a similar understanding. These, 
in every way, were the king's troops. They were bound to 
him by personal obligations. They had acquired their social 
position from him ; and they were, consequently, held under 
obligation to defend him and his kingdom from domestic or 
foreign injury. The national army, on the other hand, was 
made up of all those nobles, who had derived their estates 
from the national conquest, which, as we have seen, consisted 
chiefly of immense districts about the castles, and of all other 
noblemen, not belonging to the royal army, who thus paid for 
their personal freedom, and for all the privileges pertaining to 
their order. The royal army had for its special duty the in- 
ternal protection of the country. The national army was to 
defend it against its enemies while they should be beyond its 
borders. Both, however, when an emergency demanded, were 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 129 

to be uniled into one body, or under one command, of which 
the king was to be forever the supreme commander.^^ 

Such, in few words, was the constitution of Hungary, as 
established by the celebrated Stephen. If, in studying its 
details, the American reader should feel disposed to complain 
of some of its leading features, let it be remembered, that it 
was drawn up to meet the peculiarities of a people, whose 
position was without a parallel in the history of any nation ; 
that, in most respects, it did meet those peculiarities better 
than they could have been met by the best constitutions of 
more recent and more enlightened countries ; and that, in all 
respects, it was infinitely more wise, more liberal, more free, 
and better adapted to promote the happiness of the subject, 
than any constitution then existing. Indeed, in no other 
country, in the age now under consideration, can we find a 
methodical and written constitution of any kind, or character. 
When France and England were feudal monarchies, whose 
sovereigns were as absolute as the autocrat of the Russias, 
Hungary had led the way, and set the example to Europe and 
to the world, by raising up a constitutional state, in which 
every man knew his rights and duties, his relations and obliga- 
tions, his condition and his prospects. And this knowledge 
has ever been considered, whatever be the form of society, as 
the chief advantage to be derived from civil governments. 

For a little more than two centuries and a half, after the 



" Horvath, Geschiclite der Ungarn, Fessler Die GescMclite der 
Ungera, Paget's Hungary and Transylvania, Smith's Parallels be- 
tween the Constitution and Constitutional History of England and 
Hungary, together with various articles published in the European 
and American magazines, particularly a splendid article in the Chris- 
tian Examiner by the lady of the Rev. Dr. Putnam, of Roxbury, 
Massachusetts, are the principal sources from which I have derived 
the materials of this abstract of the Constitution of St. Stephen. 
Horvath, however, is my chief authority. Geschichte dor Ungarn, 
Part Second, cap. i. sec. i. pp. 31-37. 



130 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

death of Stephen, the Hungarian constitution, as last described, 
was administered by the king and higher nobility. The lower 
nobles, including the freemen of the cities, though members 
of the National Assembly, by virtue of their rank, never 
claimed to exercise their privilege, so far as history can ascer- 
tain the facts, till the year 1298, when Andrew the Third, by 
the advice of the archbishop of Kalocza, summoned all classes 
of the nobility to meet him on the famed Rakos' Field, which 
skirts the modern city of Pesth, now the capital of the nation." 
The object of the monarch was to set bounds to the almost 
unlimited influence of the Burggrafen, or Grafs, as they had 
begun to, be called, and of the titled nobility, or Barons, who, 
though they had received every thing from the beneficence of 
the crown, had gradually settled down into a complete sympa- 
thy and union with the Grafs. This united body of magnates 
had exercised too great an authority in l^he kingdom. The 
constitution of the great lawgiver had all the while been 
developing itself, as one emergency after another had pre- 
sented demands for changes and additions ; but the larger part 
of this growth was entirely aristocratic, giving more and more 
consequence to the higher nobles, but no new importance to 
the lower. Both the king and the lesser nobles, indeed, had 
been great sufferers. Andrew, however, at the period men- 
tioned, found himself in a position to raise an open and direct 
opposition to this dangerous tendency of the constitution. He 
was the particular friend of the House of Hapsburg. He 
had formed a private alliance with Albert, the son of the cele- 
brated Rhodolph. He had espoused the beautiful Agnes, 
Albert's daughter, whose charms were as powerful at court as 

" Engel speaks of a similar Assembly in the year lOGl ; but all 
other historians, so far as I have been able to consult them, regard 
the one mentioned here as the first on record, of whose object and 
proceedings we have any definite information. Paget, who seems to 
have taken some pains to study the subject, agrees with their opinion. 
Hungary and Transylvania, vol. i. p. 147. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 131 

the sceptre of her father. When the Hungarian nation, at 
the call of their lawful sovereign, flocked to the field of Rakos, 
they found there a prince determined to give the inferior class 
of citizens the place of power in the future direction of the 
government. The magnates, it is true, called a separate 
council of their order ; but the smaller nobility, supported by 
the king and clergy, asserted their rights with such emphasis, 
that the magnates were compelled to yield, and consent to 
share the responsibilities of government with their more nu- 
merous and more democratic brethren. From that moment, 
in fact, we are to date that remarkable and indomitable spirit 
of democracy, which has shown itself triumphant in all the 
subsequent history of the country. Indeed, at the time here 
designated, the three estates of the kingdom — the king, the 
magnates, and the gentry — took their independent positions, 
and made the first distinctly visible manifestations of the 
Hungarian constitution, as it has existed for the five centuries 
preceding the late revolution. 

During these five hundred years, the National Assembly 
has been composed of the three orders, whose powers, pre- 
rogatives, and privileges have been, in nearly all respects, 
very clearly stated and understood. The general duties and 
objects of the Assembly itself have been summed up by a 
native writer, whose works, until recently, have formed the 
principal source of information respecting the manners and 
customs of his country : '* To maintain the old Magyar Con- 
stitution ; to support it by constitutional laws ; to assert and 
secure the rights, liberties and ancient customs of the nation; 
to frame laws for particular cases ; to grant supplies and to 
fix the manner of their collection; to provide means for 
securing the independence of the kingdom, its safety from 
foreign influence, and its deliverance from all enemies; to 
examine and encourage public undertakings and establish- 
ments of general utility ; to superintend the mint ; to confer 
on foreigners the privileges of nobility, together with the per 



132 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

mission to colonize the country, and to enjoy the rights of 
Hungarians, are the important functions of the Hungarian 
Diet/'" 

This National Assembly, as it existed prior to the recent 
revolutionary struggle, may be studied as the most actual and 
reliable exponent of the constitution in its modern form. Its 
supreme head, no longer a Magyar of the house of Almos, or 
of Arpad, but an Austrian of the family of the Hapsburgs, 
was still known by the title of King of Hungary, whatever 
he might be called in any other countries under his dominion. 
Though no more, as his predecessors had been till a compara- 
tively recent date, an elective prince, but claiming his seat 
upon the throne as a hereditary right, he was, nevertheless, 
sworn to administer the government of the nation according 
to its constitution, laws and usages. Though a foreigner, he 
was looked upon, in virtue of his office, as a native citizen ; 
and since, according to the fundamental idea of the govern- 
ment, as held by his subjects, every enactment must be rati- 
fied by the whole nation, no act of the National Assembly 
could become a law without his approval. Indeed, the nation 
could not meet for legislative purposes without his consent ; 
as he exercised the power of calling and dispersing the As- 
sembly at his will. Until new laws were made, however, the 
king was sworn to administer the aflPairs of the country ac- 
cording to those already existing ; and hence this prerogative 
of royalty amounted only to this — that the monarch could 
hinder the nation from making progress in its institutions. 
When the laws were made, he was their sole executor, since 
all the executive officers of the government represented him, 
and existed by his appointment ; and, therefore, whenever any 
enactment of the legislative body was opposite to his interests, 

" In tHs nearly complete enumeration of the powers of the As- 
sembly, Fessler merely transcribes the language of the Assembly 
itself, employed at diiferent times and under various circumstances. 
Every item mentioned has a separate history. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 133 



be could do much to alter, or weaken, if not to annihilate its 
sense, by the manner in which he might please to enforce it. 
But the meaning of the laws was much more at his disposal, 
since, by the theory of the- constitution, he was acknowledged 
to be the fons et origo jurisdictionis in all the courts of jus- 
tice. The presiding judge and all the councillors of the Su- 
preme Court, or Curia Regia, received their dignities and the 
measure of their duties from him; and the district courts, 
which arose from the tribunals of the Burggrafen, and which 
are distributed over all the kingdom, were almost equally at 
his dictation. His wishes, therefore, had only to be signified 
to his judicial representatives and servants to insure such a 
degree of subserviency, in the interpretation of the laws, as 
would best support his objects. The people, it is true, in any 
such case of royal iniquity and oppression, stood all around 
the throne ready to make resistance ; but^ on the other hand, 
by the constitution of the country, the man sitting upon that 
throne, as commander of the army, could defend himself by 
calling upon the entire military establishment of the nation to 
maintain his authority. The support of the army, however, 
it may be replied, was ia the power of the people, who, by 
resolution of the National Diet, granted all supplies and sub- 
sidies ; but,^ as if to meet and check this popular reservation, 
the king was sole master of the mint, and, for a time at least, 
could control the hoarded treasure of the nation. If he 
chose to be an arbitrary sovereign, indeed, he was possessed 
of other powers, which could not fail to give him such per- 
sonal wealth, as would make him a dangerous opponent to the 
whole people. He had the right to nominate every ofl&cer of 
the government, excepting only the Palatine, who was chosen 
by the Diet, the lieutenants of the counties, fifty-two in num- 
ber, and the two officers into whose hands had been entrusted 
the crown and other regalia of the kingdom. As no persons, 
besides those thus nominated, could be raised to office, a des- 
potic and peculating prince could secure immense revenues; 

12 



134 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

almost enough for his worst purposes, by selling the exercise 
of his prerogative, as has often been the practice, to the high- 
est bidders. By the law entitled the jus successionis, the king 
inherited all the estates of the nobility, on the extinction of 
the male heirs of their respective families; and, if a bad 
prince, he could acquire vast pecuniary influence, and indeed 
possessions, from another royal privilege, by which he was 
made the legal guardian of all orphans. The means of popu- 
lar intelligence were, also, very much at his disposal; he 
claimed a censorship of the press and the entire management 
of the post-office system ; so that, in the event of any design, 
on his part, against the liberties of the people, he could greatly 
hinder, if not entirely suppress, all public expression of dis- 
approbation, as well as the general circulation of the facts on 
which any disapprobation might be grounded. If, however, 
discontent did happen to spread among the population, he had 
the means, as lawful head of the state church, of swaying 
popular opinion in a manner, and to an extent, at all times 
alarming. He gave to every bishop, and high ecclesiastical 
dignitary, his position and his bread ; and he thereby made 
himself felt, and that most effectually, in every pulpit ; and 
.the pulpits themselves, over all the kingdom, constantly 
echoed his voice, and taught the masses to mingle his au- 
thority with the authority of Him, whom all men are bound 
to reverence. At his own pleasure, without even asking the 
opinion of the nation, he could, at any time, declare war and 
make peace ; and all moneys raised by vote of the Assembly, 
as well as the ordinary revenues of the kingdom, to whatever 
purpose they may have been granted or applied, were, when 
raised, completely in his power. He could devote them to 
what ends he would. It is, therefore, plain, that, against an 
officer clothed with such manifold authority, it would be gene- 
rally impossible to make resistance, should he be set toward 
despotic measures, without the most evident approaches, at 
least, to a revolution. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 135 

The Palatine of Hungary was chosen by the Diet out of 
four magnates nominated by the crown. He was, conse- 
quently, as much the officer of the people as the representa- 
tive of the king. In all ^his duties, indeed, as president of 
the upper chamber in the National Assembly, and as first 
judge of the Curia Regia, he was justly looked upon as a con- 
stitutional mediator, at all times of necessity, between the 
nation and the throne. His position, however, was one of 
great difficulty. Both parties were liable to suspect him. 
He never dared to assume any regal splendor, even when 
representing the monarch at the seat of government, for fear 
of exciting the jealousy of the court; and his pradent sub- 
mission to the suspicions of the court rendered him an object 
of popular distrust. But if really just and impartial, his ad- 
ministration was always successful in winning the gratitude 
of the Hungarians, who, in that event, always covered the 
memory of his name with their heartiest blessings. 

The superior department of the National Assembly, called 
the Chamber of Magnates, was composed of the higher clergy, 
the barons and counts of the kingdom, and those who were 
magnates by birth and title. Thirty-five bishops and arch- 
bishops of the Catholic Church, headed by the powerful and 
and princely archbishop of Gran, and one bishop of the Greek 
Church, constituted the clerical portion of this chamber. 
Fourteen of the highest officers of state, and the fifty-two 
official counts of Hungary, sat there with the title of harones 
et comites regni, and made up the second section. The third 
included all titled princes, barons, counts, not holding office, 
but whose right to a seat in parliament had descended to them 
from their ancestors. The character of this chamber was en- 
tirely regal, since all but three of its proud members — the 
Palatine and the two Guardians of the Regalia — were nomi- 
nated by the monarch, and sat there to watch and defend his 
interests. Its powers, however, were quite restricted. It 
could initiate no measure, nor propose amendments to mca- 



136 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

sures, but only approve or clisapprove of sucli bills as came to 
it from the popular branch of the Assembly. Though its 
prerogatives as a body were well determined, the comparative 
rights of its three classes of members had not been entirely 
settled, as it was yet disputed whether the titular magnates 
had the privilege of voting on certain questions. By some 
of the Palatines, while presiding over its deliberations, the 
general maxim had been laid down and observed — vota non 
7mme7-antur, sed pondei^antur — but by what principle this 
weighing of votes was to be conducted, or by whom the scales 
were to be held, were topics not fixed by any decrees or statutes 
of the kingdom. The positive power of this chamber, there- 
fore, though it represented at least three-fourths of the wealth 
and aristocracy of the country, was really small in any great 
discussion, which concentrated the attention of the public. 
Its reputation, too, had been greatly humbled by the reckless 
avarice of the Austro-Hungarian monarchs, who, it is well 
known, had not scruj^led to fill their coffers, as well as to sup- 
port their ambitious schemes, by selling patents of nobility to 
all those willing and able to pay the price !^^ 

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, called the Per- 
sonalis, was appointed directly by the king; and, besides his 
duties as presiding officer, he was expected to understand, and 
to represent to the people, the wishes of the crown. Of the 
remaining members, one hundred and four were the repre- 
sentatives of the fifty-two counties of the kingdom, each 

" Austria has always been fond of selling her imperial honors 
without much regard to the previous dignity of the purchasers. All 
Europe had the pleasure of laughing, only a few years ago, when 
Stultz, the London tailor, was made a Baron for £10,000. The 
common price of the title is only £2000 ; but Stultz, poor fellow, 
had to pay five prices in consideration of his being raised so high 
from so low a rank. It has not been recorded, I believe, whether 
Baron Stultz made any better breeches after than before his eleva- 
tion ! Paget, vol. i. p. 2-14. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 137 

county having tlie right to send two delegates. The boroughs 
and towns, also, as well as all the provinces attached to Hun- 
gary, had a just proportion of representatives in this chamber. 
All came there by popufar election. They were bound, by 
the oath of office, to express and carry out the wishes of their 
constituents, according to such instructions as those constitu- 
ents had given them. 

The National Assembly was generally opened by a speech 
from the throne, or from the Palatine, in which the crown 
presented such propositions as it wished to have come up for 
deliberation. Before proceeding to the regular and official 
business of a session, the lower department of the legislature 
were accustomed to hold informal meetings, called Circular 
Sessions, where the questions to be determined by legal vote, 
in its subsequent and constitutional meetings, were discussed 
with great freedom. Each deputy had a right to speak, on 
every measure, as often as he could get a hearing. When 
these preliminary debates were over, and the affiiirs of the 
nation had been put into some proper shape, the house re- 
solved itself into its more legal form, and undertook the re- 
esamination of each question, under the more stringent rules 
which governed its regular proceedings. Upon the passage 
of a bill, in this chamber, it was sent to the Chamber of Mag- 
nates for their approval. If not approved in the upper house, 
it was returned to the deputies, who might continue to discuss 
and pass it, as long and as often as they might hope, by this 
means, to bring the magnates to their opinion. It could not, 
however, go before the king, until it received this superior 
sanction ; and when it did receive it, the monarch might re- 
ject it, and throw it back upon the Assembly, without assign- 
ing any reasons to justify his disapprobation. If, notwith- 
standing these obstacles, it obtained the assent of the magnates 
and the signature of the king, it had another difficulty to 
encounter, before it could be enforced, which, pro^rly to 
understand, will require a brief exposition of the last resort 

12* 



138 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

and absolutely impregnable bulwark of the liberties of the 
Hungarian nation. 

From the earliest period of its history, beyond which " the 
memory of man runneth not to the contrary," the counties of 
Hungary have enjoyed all the rights of private municipal 
independence. According to the original customs, which were 
not disturbed by the constitutions of Almos, of Arpad, and of 
Stephen, the one hundred and eight tribes of the people were 
entirely independent of each other ; and, though it is impos- 
sible now to tell precisely how these tribes became fifty-two 
rather than fifty -four counties, it is certain that the counties 
have always been more like an assemblage of small but per- 
fectly free republics, than merely political subdivisions of one 
common country. The principle by which they have been 
held together, under a general head, has been that of a con- 
stitutional confederation. Each of them has ever had a dis- 
tinct existence, and exercised all the important functions of 
an independent state. Within the limits of the county, thus 
free as a whole, all the inhabitants, whether noble or not noble, 
Magyar, Sclave and Saxon, excluding only criminals, vagrants, 
and captives taken in battle, which are excluded in all coun- 
tries, have always stood, at the bottom of the social organiza- 
tion, on one common level. As the kingdom is divided into 
counties, so the counties are made up of villages; and the 
magistrates of the villages, who have a more immediate bear- 
ing upon the daily welfare of the population, than all the 
other officers of the government together, have been elected 
to their posts, not by the nobles only, but by the universal 
sulFrage of all the people, from the wealthiest prince down to 
the most needy peasant. The peasants, therefore, to a very 
great degree, have had the government of their neighborhoods 
and homes at their own discretion ; and their wishes, conveyed 
to the county meetings by their own magistrates, have gene- 
rally had a due influence upon the deliberations of those larger 
gatherings. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 139 

The constitution of the country was, consequently, at the 
foundation, absolutely democratic; and the aristocratic and 
monarchical elements, according to the original theory of the 
government, -were combined with the democratic with almost 
a mathematical symmetry and order. The officers or repre- 
sentatives of the countless villages were elected by all the 
people ; the representatives of the fifty-two counties were 
elected by those called nobles, who, by this title, were known 
simply to enjoy the freedom, or suft'rage, of the county; the 
representative of the legislature, the centre and executor of 
its authority, was elected by a still smaller number, called 
magnates, who may be said to have exercised the freedom of 
the capital. Originally, all the officers of the country were 
elective ; and each class of the people appointed its own officers, 
or agents. The majority of the inhabitants were simply coun- 
trymen, who were to cultivate the soil, and to live in peace, 
under the protection of those bound to military service; and 
hence only such questions as affected their flocks and herds, 
their trades and traffic, their homes and firesides, were sub- 
mitted to the disposal of their magistrates. The question of 
defense, on the contrary, with all its relations to revenue and 
to general legislation, was the question of the defenders, or 
noblemen, who could rightly claim to have the management 
of their own business. The supreme command of this mar- 
tial force naturally belonged to the whole body of those hav- 
ing the inferior command ; but these soon found it necessary, 
or convenient, to delegate this high authority to some one indi- 
vidual of their number, either by frequent election, or for 
the term of life. 

The whole people, therefore, through their village officers, 
could speak directly to the assembled noblemen of the coun- 
ties; the counties, by their representatives, were listened to 
in the National Assembly; and the National Assembly, by 
means appointed for the purpose, could address words of 
authority to the king. It was easy, therefore, for power to 



140 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

run from the many to the few, and from the few to the one, 
till, from the most distant circumference, it had reached the 
centre. It was impossible, however, without the consent of 
the different circles of the population, that power should pro- 
ceed from the centre to that circumference. It is to be dis- 
tinctly understood, that the king could only lay his propositions 
before the National Assembly ; the National Assembly could 
transform those propositions, as well as its own motions, into 
legislative enactments; but, what was the grand security of 
the liberties, freedom and happiness of the people, no enact- 
ment could become a law, within the limits of a county, until 
acknowledged and ratified by its own inhabitants. 

Thus, the constitution of the Hungarian nation, at first en- 
tirely democratic, successively assumed to itself, to meet new 
wants, aristocratic and monarchic powers ; and these, in the 
maturity of its being, before it had been tampered with by 
foreign tyrants, were more fittingly combined, more nicely 
mixed, than in any nation they had ever been before, or have 
been since. It was emphatically a free constitution, because, 
though recognising the existence of aristocratic and regal 
powers, the whole people were acknowledged as the last tribu- 
nal, before which every wish of the king, and every motion 
of the legislative body, had to pass to obtain the authority of 
a legal regulation. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 141 



CHAPTER VI. 

EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE COUNTRY. 

When the Hungarians crossed the Carpathians and entered 
into their present country, and from that period to the corona- 
tion of St. Stephen, all Europe was in the act of passing from 
under the yoke of Roman despotism, and of creating for itself 
new states and empires. 

In Italy, the Romans had submitted to the Ostrogoths, the 
Ostrogoths to the Lombards, the Lombards to the French, and 
the French to the Germans, who, at the beginning of the 
eleventh century, took possession of the entire country, as far 
south as the States of the Church, excepting the territories 
belonging to the Venetian and Genoese republics. These two 
cities, however, were rapidly rising to importance. Genoa, 
shaking off her servitude to France, could not be conquered 
by the Germans. Venice, driven from the land by successive 
bands of barbarians, had fled to a little nest of neighboring 
islands, and was extending her dominion over the bays and 
bosom of the Adriatic. The territory of the Church, which 
had been usurped by the See of Rome, when the empire was 
falling, had been legally recognised by the French, as well as 
by the Teutonic, sovereigns. Constantinople, also, was still 
standing ; but it was standing as a monument to discord, and 
tottering to its dissolution. East of it, on the banks of the 
Tigris, sat the city of Bagdat mourning like a captive, as she 
beheld the hand of the Turk, whom she had hired as a ser- 
vant, grasp and brandish the still powerful sceptre of the 
Arab, while the glory of her Caliphs was departing. On the 
north-east of the Hungarian fatherland was the country of the 



142 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Rossi; or Russians, but their name was better known to geo- 
graphers than to statesmen. West of this region of the Rossi 
was the land of the Poles, which, in the very year of Ste- 
phen's coronation, was erected by Otho the Third into a sepa- 
rate and independent kingdom. Germany itself, however, 
with the spoils of the empire of Charlemagne, and with nearly 
as large a territory as ever cowered beneath the domination of 
the Caesars, was comparatively feeble. When Arpad set his 
foot in Hungary, the name of his race was a terror to all these 
nations; his three successors, Soltan, Taksony and Geisa, 
compelled both the Germans and the Greeks to pay them 
tribute, as a reward for their promised quiet; and, throughout 
the west and south of Europe, the liturgy of the churches 
taught the devout worshipers to pray — " Good Lord, deliver 
us from the Hungarians."^ 

These Hungarians, it must be admitted, were at that time 
very barbarous; but the inhabitants of nearly all the European 
countries were almost as much wanting in knowledge and re- 
finement. The era of this singular immigration was the 
gloomiest period, the very midnight, of the middle ages. 
The Catholic religion, corrupt enough in itself, had been still 
more corrupted upon the conversion of the savages, by whom 
the Romans had been conquered. The simple rites of the 
apostolic church, after their first aggrandizement by being 
made to put on the pomp of the Jewish temple-service, had 
been degraded by the indecencies and vulgarities of the Celtic, 
Teutonic and Scandinavian worship. Many of the new cere- 
monies, which had been thus incorporated into the Christian 
system, were as scandalous as the mysteries of Elusus, or the 



' From Almos to Stephen there were six dukes inclusive. Their 
reigns were these : Almos, 885-889 ; Arpad, 889-907 ; Soltan, 907- 
946 ; Taksony, 946-972 ; Geisa, 972-997 ; Stephen, till he assumed 
the regal title, 997-1000. Horvath, Geschichte der Ungarn, Part 
First, pp. 2-30. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 143 

orgies of the drunken Bacchants. At the very time, when 
the sanctimonious papists were supplicating Heaven's favor 
against the savages of Hungary, they were annually cele- 
brating what they styled the Feast of the Ass, in the oldest 
and largest of their cathedrals. The object of this festival 
was to commemorate the j&ight of the virgin into Egypt. The 
ceremony will serve to manifest the darkness of that epoch. 
A beautiful young lady, dressed in a Jewish habit, with a 
young child folded in her arms, was seated upon an ass, which 
was adorned with the most gorgeous trappings. The animal 
had been practiced for the part expected of him. Going 
quietly along, from the place appointed for the gathering of 
the people, toward the door of the church, he entered the 
sanctuary of God in solemn order, while the assembled thou- 
sands followed him in one vast procession. While the multi- 
tude were thronging to their seats, below and above, the beast 
went forward, bearing the damsel and the child, and stood 
before the altar. The services of high mass now commenced. 
At the ringing of the little bell, which was the signal to the 
worshipers to fall upon their knees, the beast knelt with them. 
He arose, also, with the uprising of the people. At the con- 
clusion of the service, which was full of all sorts of blasphemy 
and indecency, the priest dismissed the assembly, not by the 
usual benediction, but by braying three times like an ass, in 
recognition of the three persons of the holy Trinity ; the people 
brayed three responses; and often the ass himself, either by the 
lessons given him, or catching the fit by a spirit of imitation, 
united his own bellowings to the inhuman chorus. This was 
Catholicism, this the civilization of central and western Europe, 
when the Magyars settled down, under their first king, on the 
soil purchased by their valor. 

The regal dynasty of the house of Almos, or of Arpad, on 
the male side, which followed the dissolution of the ducal 
sovereignty, lasted from the year 1000 to 1301, when it came 
to a close by the deatb of Andreas the Third, in whom the 



144 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

male line of his family became extinct.^ Among all the 
princes, who filled up this wide space in the history of their 
nation, not more than five or six of them did any thing worthy 
of special record, Bela the First is celebrated by the Mag- 
yars as the king who introduced the coinage of silver into 
Plungary. He also made regulations concerning weights and 
measures, fixed the prices of the leading agricultural products, 
and established a system of internal commerce. It was his 
reign, in fact, which transformed his countrymen from a race 
of herdsmen to a nation of agriculturists and merchants, 
Ladislaus the First, who, in our day, would be recognized as 
a statesman, had he not been in his own age canonized as a 
saint, is famous for having perfected the civil and social insti- 
tutions, which Stephen had begun. Stephen, as we have seen, 
was the founder of the Hungarian constitution. Ladislaus the 
First developed and expanded its various provisions into laws. 
He has been almost equally renowned, by the religious of every 
succeeding generation, as the royal apostle, by whose piety 
and discretion the last remnants of paganism were subdued. 
When he died, the country went into sincere and solemn 
mourning, scarcely rivaled in the history of any monarch. 
For three whole years, there was not a festival, nor the sound 
of any instrument of music, in all the land which he had blest 



^ This dynasty emliracecl t-wenty-one monarclis, wliose reigns be 
gan and terminated thus : Stephen, 1000-1038 ; Peter I., 1038-1040 
Samuel, 1040-1044; Peter IL, 1044-1046; Andreas I., 1046-1061 
Bela I., 1061-1063; Salamon, 1063-1074; Geisa I., 1074-1077 
St. Ladislaus, 1077-1095; Koloman, 1095-1114; Stephen II. , 1114- 
1131 ; Bela II., 1131-1151 ; Geisa II., 1151-1161 ; Stephen III., 
1161-1173; Bela III., 1173-1195; Emrich, 1195-1204; Andreas II., 
1205-1235; Bela IV., 1235-1270; Stephen V., 1270-1272; Ladis- 
laus IL, 1272-1290* Andreas III., 1290-1301. These dates are 
made out by a comparison of several Magyar and German historians. 
Horvath, however, where he uses figures, is my leading authority 
till the reign of Koloman. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 145 



and left. His successox', Koloman, a person of very mean 
appearance, in intellectual and moral qualities was truly great. 
He undertook to carry out the unfinished designs of his prede- 
cessor. He is worthy of all admiration for his magnanimity, 
for his patriotism, and for his legislative talent. He seemed 
to have, in all his efforts, the highest of purposes in view. 
He wished, above every thing else, to make the spirit of the 
Christian religion the basis of the government, to secure the 
independence of the country by guaranteeing the liberties of 
the people, and, as a final support to all the blessings of a free 
nation, to give all needful power to the requirements, and to 
the representatives, of law. In many of his regulations, as 
well as in the general tenor of his administration, he was 
several centuries before the temper of his times. In one of 
his statutes it was decreed, that no more prosecutions should 
be made against witches, not because such proceedings were 
unnecessary, or inhuman, or impolitic, or beyond the reach of 
civil government, but simply because " there were no such 
beings as witches in the world. "^ Rather than involve his 
country in a religious war, he resigned to the pope the right 
of nominating priests and bishops, which he had exercised, 
without personal benefit, before. Such was the wisdom of his 
policy, that Hungary began to be regarded with admiration, 
or with envy, by surrounding nations. He introduced her, 
indeed, to the fellowship of the European countries; and, as 
a help to the external commerce of his subjects, to which his 
own administration had given birth, he levied the first tax 
ever known in this tax-hating land. It was a tax of five per- 
eentum on imports and exports. It was followed by the 



* It is known, however, that the practice was not entirely ah dished. 
A witch was burnt, at Szegedin, so late as the reign of Maria The- 
resa. The son of the unhappy victim of superstition became fii'st a 
monk, and afterwards a novclisl! His name was Dugonicz. Pulsky's 

Introduction, p. 38. 

13 



146 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tributum fori, or market-tax, and by direct taxes on freemen 
and on foreigners. Such was the honor in which this king 
was held, that his very taxes added to his popularity ! 

The limits of the kingdom were extended by the valor of 
this race of princes. Ladislaus the First, whose sword was as 
ready as his pen, conquered Sclavonia and Croatia in the year 
1089 ; and, in 1102, Koloman took Dalmatia from the Vene- 
tians, who, in that age, were beginning to be one of the great 
powers of Europe. The Kossi, who then inhabited the terri- 
tory next north of Hungary, now known as Gallicia, had 
previously been humbled by Salamon and by Ladislaus. The 
people of Moravia, too, who were also Sclavic, in attempting 
to foment disturbances between their kindred in Hungary and 
the Magyar government, were severely punished by more than 
one of these patriotic and powerful monarchs. At the death 
of Koloman, in 1114, Hungary had entirely passed the line 
that divides the Asiatic from the European style of civiliza- 
tion, and begun to enter into the system and fellowship of the 
European states. 

This era, however, was followed by a long period of weak- 
ness, servility and disgrace. From 1114 to 1205, the country 
of the Magyars was ruled by the policy, as well as by the 
whims, of Constantinople. The Grreeks, always a deep and 
facile people, repining over their eastern losses, wished to 
make amends by extending their influence toward the west. 
Not daring to attack so brave and warlike a race, as that of 
Hungary, they courted the princes and flattered the vanity of 
the nation. The Magyars were welcomed to the great me- 
tropolis of Christendom. The schools of the city, the marts 
of trade, and the places of amusement, were freely opened to 
them. A young Hungarian looked upon it as the last goal 
of fortune, if he could leave the rustic plains of his native 
land, proceed to the seat and centre of all splendor, initiate 
himself into the graces of some Grecian family, and either 
settle down among his benefactors, or return to his home the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 147 



husband of a lady, whose eyes sparkled with the fire of her 
proud ancestry, whose lips dropped the accents of Aspasia, and 
whose heart claimed alliance with Pericles and Plato. Hun- 
gary, during all this time, turned her eyes as much as possible 
from every other part of Europe, and looked to the banks of 
the Dardanelles as the El-Dorado of the nation. 

Andreas the Third, however, the last of this family of 
princes, was an exception to this general statement. He was 
by no means a Grecian. He saw with regret the tendency of 
his people toward the temptations held out to them at Con- 
stantinople. Himself nursed by a Venetian mother, and 
educated under German and Italian influences, he looked to 
Italy, or to Germany, for sympathy, for friendship, for alli- 
ances. He formed a close connection with the German em- 
peror, made frequent visits to his imperial residence, and, in 
1296, married Agnes, the beautiful daughter of the Austrian 
Albert. The nation, indeed, inclined toward the Greeks. 
The government of the nation was rather German.* 

During the existence of this dynasty, and mostly between 
the reigns of Ladislaus the First and Andreas the Second, 
Hungary was united to Europe as it had never been before, 
and as it never will be again. The time spoken of was the 
period of the crusades. Those vast hordes of men, flocking 
from every European country to the Holy Land, took the road, 
which all travel and all commerce, between the east and the 
west, would be sure to take, were it not closed and guarded by 
the jealousy of a short-sighted and despotic rule. They went 
to Asia over the plains of Hungary. On reaching the bounda- 
ries of the kingdom, they were ordinarily met by an army 
headed by the monarch, who undertook to conduct them 
across his dominions, as much to defend his subjects against 



* It is a notable faet, not mentioned, I believe, in English history, 
that Bela III. married Margaret, sister to the French king, and 
widow of one of the Henries of old England. 



148 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTEt. 

lawless violence, as to do honor to the object of theii* enter- 
prise. This royal escort was not always sufficient to keep in 
subordination the rampant soldiers of the cross. Massacres, 
battles, encampments, and other military delays, occurred, by 
which the inhabitants of every part of Europe " gained the 
opportunity of becoming personally acquainted with the peo- 
ple, position and products of this new Eden of the world. 
Many, indeed, tired of their pompous and empty undertaking, 
on their return from Palestine, some on their way to it, re- 
linquished a life of religious but bootless chivalry, to settle 
down upon the soil of this enchanting land. They brought 
with them their languages, their predilections, and their foreign 
associations. Having friends in other countries, their epistles 
and messages were filled with information respecting their new 
home, and their urgent invitations brought many of their 
kindred to join them in their new career. Hungary, so long 
an unknown region, a terra incognita, to many countries of 
Europe, was in this way revealed to all. 

When the last of this race of monarchs took his position 
upon the throne, Europe was in a very different condition from 
that in which it was at the opening of the eleventh century, 
when this dynasty'began. For one century and a half, it may 
be truly said, Europe had been away from home. She had 
been abroad in Asia. On the way there, she had mingled her 
multiplied populations into one common mass, whose object, 
spirit and sympathies were the same. In this manner, Europe 
had become acquainted with herself. While residing in Asia, 
she had made the acquaintance of many new people, of peo- 
ple never dreamed of before. She had found, too, that the 
Asiatics, including the Mussulmans and Turks, were not the 
barbarians she had supposed them to be, but even more learned, 
more civilized, more elegant in their style of life than the 
Europeans themselves. Both going and returning, while the 
great hordes had marched through Hungary, several of the 
smaller and selector bands, led by some of the first characters 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 149 

of that age, had taken their route through Rome, where, by 
personal observation, they had acquired a conviction that 
popery at home was far from being what popery was supposed 
to be abroad. Religious i^anaticism had thus declined. The 
intercourse thus originated, between the inhabitants of dif- 
ferent countries, had given to national fanaticism a mortal 
blow. The craft of kings had been wounded at the most 
vital part. To raise funds for the sustenance of their huge 
armies, the princes had sold charters of liberty to many towns 
and cities, which, not only by tens and scores, but by hun- 
dreds even, had risen up in France, in Germany, in Italy, and 
in every European land. Hungary, which had united in the 
movement, by which the three known quarters of the globe 
had been roused and brought together, shared, also, in its 
beneficent results. At this moment, and by this instrument- 
ality, for the first time in her history, she became strictly and 
fully European.^ 

The third of the several lines of Hungarian sovereigns may 
be termed the female dynasty of the house of Almos. When 
the male heirs of the crown became extinct, by the death of 
Andreas the Third, who was taken ofi" by poison, the noted 
Charles Robert, duke of Anjou, grandson of Bela the Fourth 
on the female side, was elevated to the vacant throne; and 
eight of his ten successors, who constitute the dynasty he 
began, had the blood of the first Hungarian Oberhaupt, de- 
rived exactly as Charles Robert himself had derived it, run- 
ning in their veins. ^ 

• The reader, who wishes to trace the influences of this grand 
period more minutely, than would be consistent with my limits, may 
consult Abel Remusat's " Memoires sur les Relations Politiques des 
Princes Chretiens avee les Empereurs Mongols," pp. 154-157, and 
Guizot's History of Civilization, p. 206, where the leading passage 
of the great orientalist is largely quoted. 

* The following are the names and reigns of this female line : 
Charles Robert, 1307-1342; Louis the Great, 1342-1382; Maria, 

13* 



150 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

With this race of kings a new era in Hungarian history 
takes its rise. By the talents and virtues of her native 
princeS; Hungary had been raised from a horde of barbarous 
nomades to the settled and civilized condition of a state ; and 
some of the last of these princes, carrying the work of civiliza- 
tion still farther, had made her a respectable member of the 
system of European nations. She is now, however, to be 
ushered at once into the arena of empires, where she is to 
perform a most conspicuous part. Charles Robert was the 
grandson of the king of Naples; and he was raised to the 
throne of Hungary by the influence of Boniface the Eighth^ 
the Roman pontiff at that time. He was the son of Charles 
Martel, a French' duke, who was a reputed natural descendant 
of the famous Mayor of Paris of the same name. His mother 
was the beautiful Clementia, daughter of Rodolph, the cele- 
brated founder of the Hapsburgh house. Thus, the new king 
was at once an Italian, a Spaniard, a Frenchman, a Grcrman, 
and a Hungarian ; and he brought with him a debt of grati- 
tude, and therefore a bond of alliance, to the bishop of Rome, 
who, in that age, was the centre of the European world. His 
policy as a monarch accorded exactly with his origin as a man. 
He was not, in his own mind, either a Hungarian, or a Ger- 
man, or a Frenchman, or a Spaniard, or an Italian, but all of 
them at once. He was, in other words, a European. The 
leading element of his character, nevertheless, was French. 
The French ideal of a government, which is that of glory and 
grandeur, rather than that of liberty and happiness, was the 
ideal of his life. He wanted to make his kingdom blaze with 

1382-1385; Charles Martel, 1385-1387; Sigismund, 1387-1437; 
Albert, 1437-1437 ; Ulaclislaus, 1437-1445 ; Ladislaus Postliumus, 
1445-1457; Matthias Corvinus, 1457-1490; Uladislaus II., 1490- 
1516; Louis II., 1516-1526. The Magyar historians have been 
puzzled to give this dynasty a characteristic name ; but I have pro- 
posed the one stated in the text, by which a great deal of circumlocu- 
tion is avoided, for the suiBcient reason, as I trust, there assigned. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 151 

all sorts of splendor. The throne particularly must dazzle 
the eye of Europe. The people are to Ibe transformed, by a 
stroke of his magic sceptre, from honorable and high-minded 
husbandmen to a nation of gentlemen and courtiers. The 
homely old customs are to be utterly abandoned. The grace- 
ful dress of the natives, which flowed most magnificently and 
characteristically in rich oriental folds, is to be laid aside for 
the narrow dimensions and tight fits of the latest styles of 
France. The French language must be spoken at court and 
by the people. French manners and ceremonies, French 
fashions of domestic and of public life, French luxuries of 
every sort, and, worse than all, French ideas of the decencies 
and indecencies of social life, must be imported for the benefit 
of a race of beings, who had ever been renowned for the purity 
and simplicity of their habits, for the frankness and integrity 
of their conduct, and for the inany but nameless minor virtues, 
which make up the character of a natural, rather than an arti- 
ficial, man. Vice and fashion came into the country hand in 
hand. So changed was Hungary, at the close of Charles Ro- 
bert's life, that the natives scarcely knew whether they were 
Magyar or French. Not only the language and books of the 
higher classes, but the ideas of the common people, were en- 
tirely French. Simplicity was gone. The old matrons of the 
land could hardly tell what was meant, when their daughters 
asked them to their own tables to breakfast, or to dine. French 
cookery, with all its vocabulary of names, had transformed 
the well-known and seasonable repasts of the former ages into 
dinis, sov])es and dejcunls. The nobility had their balls ])are 
and their balls masqul. The towns, small as well as great, 
boasted of their assemhUes and redoutes. Gentlemen played 
at cards with the ladies ; and ladies, covered with jyoudre d le 
Marechale, vapored and had fits. Husbands kept an ami de 
la maison for their wives ; and the wives as pliantly allowed 
a Jille de chambre to their husbands. Every city was over- 
flowing with maitres d' hotels and cooks; every hall resounded 



152 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

•with, ballets, operas and comic plays ; and, at the same mo- 
ment, the whole country, covered with true French splendor, 
was overwhelmed with degradation, debauchery and debt.' 

Hungary was now emphatically European. Self-develop- 
ment was no longer the doctrine of the country. All eyes 
were turned abroad. Extension, magnitude, magnificence, 
were the words most current, even with the masses. Louis 
the Great, son of Charles Eobert, spread the dominion of the 
Magyars to the shores of the three neighboring seas. He 
introduced the doctrine of a standing army into Hungary, and 
into Europe. With his brave soldiery, and its black flag, he 
twice traversed the heart of Italy, twice attacked Naples, twice 
conquered it, and twice banished its warlike princes from its 
throne. With this same bloody band, he waged war against 
the powerful republic of Venice, discomfited her ablest gene- 
rals, cut down her mightiest armies, and recovered the greater 
part of Dalmatia, lost by some of his unfortunate predecessors, 
and hung it as a jewel upon his crown. In 1370, as a tribute 
to his martial talents, and without any agency of his own, he 
was unanimously elected king of Poland by the free electors 
of that realm. Hungary, Southern Italy and Poland were 
thus temporarily combined. 

But the same world-wide policy went on during his daugh- 
ter's reign. That daughter, the fair-haired Maria, had been 
married to the Grerman Sigismund, who, after the death of his 
father-in-law, became both king of Hungary, by his wife's 
right, and emperor of G-ermany, by the election of his peers. 
He brought the kingdom of the Magyars again before the 
world. Under him it was looked upon, though in reality a 
distinct and independent country, as one of the great family 
of nations, which acknowledged the supremacy of his crown. 
After the death of Sigismund, and the assassination of Charles 



' Eiesbeck's Travels through Germany, Letter xxxi., Pinkerton's 
Collection. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 153 

Martel, wbo was only a i^retender to the throne, Hungary 
again submitted to Maria, whose alliance with Italy and Ger- 
many made her strong. 

In 1437, Elizabeth, the daughter of Sigismund and Maria, 
had been espoused to Albert of Austria, who, after Maria's 
bloody death, was elected king of Hungary through the title 
of his wife. He was subsequently created emperor of Ger- 
many, but, to present a barrier against the Turks, he made his 
Magyar kingdom the leading member of the empire, to whose 
necessities he caused every other intei'est to bow. That race 
of robbers, rising up in eastern Asia, had gradually migrated 
westward, spreading death and desolation on every side, till 
they had become the dread of every Christian throne. Now, 
when they were about to strike their last and most deadly 
blow, Hungary became the hojDe of all the western nations, 
the centre of the European world. Albert fell nobly and 
bravely fighting the battles of humanity and of man. 

Uladislaus, the successor of Albert, was at the same time 
king of Hungary and of Poland. His life is only a demon- 
stration that a mau; great by position, is not always great in 
fact. He was the grandson of Louis the First, in the female 
line, and died in battle while waging a Quixotic war against 
the Asiatic Turks. He left the Hungarian throne to Ladislaus 
Posthumus, son of Sigismund and Elizabeth, a weak and con- 
temptible monarch, but whose reign is immortalized by the 
heroic deeds of John Hunyady, the Transylvauian chief, whose 
name will ever live in history, in story, and in song. He was 
the Cid of that martial age. The Turks had now entrenched 
themselves in Europe and erected their tents about the walls 
of the metropolis of the Christian world. The Koman empire, 
reduced to a single city, was a prisoner within that city's walls. 
The Greeks could not stir abroad. They had no resource, no 
succor, no expectation in themselves. Hungary was almost 
their only hope ; and Hungary was governed by a feeble and 
fickle Iring. But the king's general was a general indeed. 



154 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

He defended the country against tlie Turkish hordes ; and to 
Germany, which basely wished to take advantage of the pre- 
sence of the infidels, and reduce the country of the Magyars 
to a Grerman province, he administered a military lesson, which 
the empire had reason to remember for many a year. In 1453, 
the followers of Mahomet, assisted by this treasonable diver- 
sion created by the German emperor, seized and sacked the 
city of the Caesars. Flushed with victory, the conquerors of 
Constantinople rushed to the plains of Hungary, expecting 
now to be able to sweep every opposition from their path. 
Hunyady met them at Belgrade. The slaughter of the Turks 
was terrible. They quailed, and turned, and fled. Christen- 
dom had been saved by the prowess of a single arm. But in 
twenty days after this memorable achievement, the glorious 
chieftain, mom-ned by the whole nation, was carried to his 
grave ; and in a few months afterwards, the worthless mon- 
arch of the Magyars was deposited by his side. 

Matthias Corvinus,^ son of Hunyady, but a youth of only 
sixteen years, was raised by the gratitude of his countrymen 
to the Hungarian throne. He was the first of the IMagyar 
sovereigns in no way connected to the Arpadian line ; and he 
was, in all respects, the mightiest that ever wielded the sceptre 
of his native land. The greatest statesman, the ablest general, 
as well as the most powerful king, that his country had ever 
raised, his reign was one round of battles, victories and renown. 
He condemned the original military system of the Hungarians, 
which he considered useful only for defence, and raised up 
the nucleus of a standing army, called the Black Legion, whose 
valor shed a peculiar glory on his name. For the support of 
this army, he prevailed upon the nobility and clergy to lay 



* When it is remembered, that the v in European ■VYords is usually 
pronounced like our w, and that the us is nothing but a Latin termi- 
nation of declension, Corvinus is at once transformed to Corwin — a 
name not unfamiliar to Americans. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 155 

taxes, uot upon the impoverished peasantry, but upon them- 
selves. Pushing towards the east, he gives battle to the 
Turks, and imprisons them, as they had the Greeks, within 
their city walls. Turning northward, he subdues Silesia and 
Moravia, which had been meddling with Hungarian affairs. 
Proceeding westward, he declares war against the whole Ger- 
man empire, whose imperial head, Frederick the Third, had 
frequently insulted his weak predecessors, captures all the 
cities of Austria, and marches up to the entrenchments of 
Vienna, and takes the proud capital of the Hapsburgs by 
storm. Sweeping round toward the south, he settles the 
turbulence of his southern provinces, Dalmatia, Sclavonia and 
Croatia, and returns to the seat of government, covered with 
glory as with a garment, to raise up schools, colleges and 
libraries, and to spread over his country the light of a higher 
civilization than Hungary had ever known. 

Under the successor of Matthias, Uladislaus the Second, 
king of Bohemia, whose election was secured to him as a re- 
mote descendant of Almos and of Arpad, on the female side, 
Hungary continued to hold a conspicuous position in European 
affairs. By his general, John Hunyady the Second, son of 
the late king, he prosecuted the war of his great predecessor 
against the emperor of Germany, and, by another able cap- 
tain, John Zapolya, he punished Poland for certain insults 
offered to the independence and majesty of his crown. To- 
ward the close of his administration, however, he committed 
an error, which Hungary has had cause to lament for three- 
full centuries of time. Wishing, after all his hostility to the 
Germans, to strengthen his hands by a friendly alliance with 
his enemies, and flattered by the promises held out to him, he 
consented to form a double union with the House of Austria, 
which, from the little ducal principality of Hapsburg, had 
begun to stand up as one of the European powers. Actuated 
by these motives, he married his son to Maria, and his daughter 
to Ferdinand, the grandchildren of the celebrated Maximilian, 



156 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

In this way, wliile linking the fame and fortunes of his coun- 
try with a branch of the mightiest empire of the world since 
the fall of Kome, he ran the risk — the fatal risk — of subject- 
ing that country to the sway of a foreign land. He died soon 
after the performance of this unwise and unpatriotic act ; and 
his son Louis the Second, the husband of Maria and conse- 
quently brother-in-law to the emperor Charles the Fifth, was 
suddenly cut off while flying from the bloody field of Mohacz, 
where, in 1525, he left the Hungarian throne without an heir 
having the most distant relationship, by male or female con- 
sanguinity, to Almos, to Arpad, or to any of the old royal 
line. 

For two hundred and seventeen years this female dynasty 
of the House of Hungary had continued. During its exist- 
ence, Europe had passed from darkness to light, from infancy 
to manhood, from the bigotry of the Crusades to the universal 
liberty and charity of the Reformation. Between its begin- 
ning and its termination, the most memorable events had 
occurred, the most wonderful discoveries had been achieved, 
the most incredible advancement in civilization had been real- 
ized, that the race of humanity had ever known. The power 
of the Romans, which had filled the page of the world's his- 
tory for more than two thousand years, had expired beneath 
the hostile tramp of a nation of oriental robbers. A new 
power had been planted, in a world but recently discovered, 
which, in no distant period, was destined to throw an eternal 
shadow over the glory of the Roman. The Church of God, 
purged of its corruptions, had risen up from the depths of its 
misery, dashed in pieces the shackles that had bound it, re- 
asserted the design and dignity of its mission, proclaimed free- 
dom to the captive faculties of mankind, and shed the glory 
of the Bible upon a multitude of nations. Schools had been 
everywhere erected. The arts and sciences had begun to 
flourish. The first paper-mill had been set to work in Grer- 
many. Post-offices had been established among the French. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 157 

Painting in oil-colors had been invented by the Dutch. India 
had been discovered by doubling the Cape of Good Hope. 
Magellan, with the newly invented mariner's compass, had 
made the circuit of the globe. Petrarch, by welcoming the 
Greeks, had laid the corner-stone of modern literature, and 
given the first-fruits of it to the world. The art of printing, 
discovered by the Germans, had been carried to all the great 
cities of all the great countries of the day. Every thing, in a 
word, had been in motion. Every man in Europe, stirred by 
the mysterious impulses of his times, had been roused from 
sleep. Every power of society had been at work. The se- 
crets of nature, hid since the body of the globe was built, 
seemed to have been brought to light. The splendors of a 
new era, unrivaled and unapproached, had broken upon the 
countries of modern Europe, with which Hungary had held 
the most intimate connections for more than two hundred 
years. Now, at the close of her third dynasty of native 
sovereigns, she is about to sink into an insignificance, from 
which it will be the object of many a heroic struggle to 
reappear. 

The last of the Hungarian dynasties, which covers the 
course of more than three centuries, made a most ominous 
beginning.^ The National Assembly, which had openly re- 
monstrated against the double alliance concluded by the inter- 
marriages between the heirs of Uladislaus and of the German 
Maximilian, now resolved not to acknowledge Ferdinand, the 

' The names and reigns of this dynasty, as far down as the year 
1832, when a distinct period of Hungarian history takes its origin, are 
the following: John Zapolya, 152G-1540, and Ferdinand the Fii-st, 
1526-1564 (rival kings); John Sigismund, 1540-1571, and Maxi- 
milian, 1564-1574 (rival kings); Rhodolph I., 1574-1608; Matthias 
II., 1608-1618; Ferdinand II., 1618-1636; Ferdinand III., 1636- 
1657; Leopold I., 1657-1705; Joseph L, 1705-1711 ; Charles III., 
1711-1740; Maria Theresa, 1740-3 770; Joseph II., 1770-1790; 
Leopold IL, 1790-1792; Francis L, 1792-1832. 

14 



158 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

husband of their late king's daughter, but crowned John 
Zapolya, his general, on the 9th of November, 1526, by a unani- 
mous election. Ferdinand, however, was not to be set aside 
so easily. Mary, widow of Louis the Second, was his sister, 
and zealous in his interest. Charles the Fifth, emperor of 
Germany, was his brother, with the will and the means to give 
him a powerful support. Zapolya, too, who had been a valor- 
ous and successful captain, became a weak and vacillating 
monarch. He was soon driven into Transylvania. Ferdi- 
nand, pushing into the country from the west, was elected 
and acknowledged on the 16th of December. A war of suc- 
cession now arose, which, for almost half a century, raged with 
unceasing energy. The Turks were called in, by both parties, 
to aid in the settlement of the quarrel ; and they, when once 
admitted into the country, from which they had been manfully 
excluded by the native sovereigns, pursued a double policy, 
till they had made themselves masters of the kingdom. For 
two centuries, with occasional intermissions, the Turks swayed 
the destinies of Hungary. The Austrian monarchs, who 
were generally emperors of Grermany as well as kings of 
Hungary, were willing to see the Magyars reduced and 
humbled, as they would thus become more subservient to 
foreign domination. The introduction of those barbarians, 
therefore, as well as their continuance in the country, were 
the result of this perfidious policy. Eight of these German 
rulers, from Ferdinand to Charles the Third inclusive, in this 
way bled and subdued the nation, and forged the chains for 
binding it in eternal slavery at Constantinople. Germany, 
which professed to be the revival of the Roman empire of the 
west, and the sworn and sole protector of Christianity, to get 
possession of a people, who had ever been the champions of 
freedom, stooped to employ the avowed enemies of our religion 
through whom to effect its wicked and bloody purpose. Hun- 
gary, though nominally connected to an empire, whose history 
was the history of Europe during the two centuries in ques- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 159 



tion, was really left to sink into obscurity, and welter in its 
own blood, shed by the hand of the barbarians. 

Charles the Third, thinking that this foul work had been 
sufficiently accomplished, raised an army and expelled the 
Turks, about a century ago, after a few decisive battles. 
Hungary was again brought into notice as a member — a 
bruised and bleeding member — of the great Germanic system. 
The House of Austria, once the head of a little Swiss princi- 
pality, now giving successive rulers to nearly one-half of Eu- 
rope, was again willing to record the name of Hungary on its 
proud escutcheon. Hungary, however, during these two ages 
of treason and oppression, had acquired no willingness now to 
come forth from her long night of suffering, and stand before 
the gaze of the world, as a manacled and mutilated slave. 
Nor did the monarchs succeeding Charles the Third so treat 
her as to inspire her with any greater willingness. The three 
sovereigns between Charles and Francis — Maria Theresa, Jo- 
seph the Second, and Leopold the Second — though quite un- 
like in their natural temperaments and personal characteristics, 
pursued the one unchangeable policy of their house — self- 
aggrandizement by centralizing in itself the powers of the 
several states; and when Francis the First expired, in the 
year 1832, while the National Assembly was in session, he 
left his kingdom just on the point of opening for itself a new 
and more glorious career, by reasserting its original constitu- 
tion, its liberties and its independence. 

At that period, Hungary had settled down within the limits, 
which nature and necessity seem to have assigned it. It no 
longer maintained any organic connection with Italy, with 
Poland, or with Bohemia. The old provinces of Pannonia 
and Dacia, or Hungary and Transylvania, together with 
Croatia and Sclavonia, which had been acquired originally by 
conquest, and the Military Frontier, which stretched for nine 
hundred and twenty miles between Hungary and Turkey, 
completing the chain of the circumjacent mountains by an 



160 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

iu surmountable but artificial barrier, constituted at that time 
the kingdom. Its relations to the surrounding countries, in 
the course of more than eight centuries, had become greatly 
changed; and many of the nations, flourishing and powerful 
when this kingdom was established, had been blotted from the 
map of Europe, while others had sprung into existence in a 
manner, which, in some ages, would have been regarded as 
miraculous. There are several of these neighboring states, 
which, though their names have been frequently employed in 
the foregoing pages, have so close a connection with the posi- 
tion and prospects of the Hungarian nation, and their histories 
are in themselves so marvellous, that some slight memorials 
of their origin and strength, at the death of Francis, are es- 
sential to a clear and complete exposition of the present topic. 
In the sixth century of the Christian era, along the banks 
of the Irtish, on the steppes of north-western Asia, dwelt a 
small band of robbers, who, when pursued, fled to the steeps 
and solitudes of the Altay mountains. While the empires of 
Ca3sar and of Mahomet were in annual conflict, disputing 
the mastery of the world, these corsairs of the land sold their 
services to the one or to the other party, according to the value 
of the bribes offered them. Not far from the middle of the 
eighth century, when their power had been humbled and their 
territory dismembered by the combined armies of the Chinese 
and the Saracens, they professed the religion of the Prophet, 
and were at once employed as the body-guard of the reigning 
Caliph. From servants they soon became masters. Every 
successive convulsion and revolution in Asia served to increase 
their power. The Seljooks and the Mongols swept over them 
for a time ; but, in the end, the robbers were found to have 
acquired new strength from the sediments of these vast inun- 
dations. One of the captains of this band, by the name of 
Osman, with only about five hundred followers, looking with 
a greedy eye on the rolling landscapes, the hills and valleys, 
of the lesser Asia, sprung to his horse with a sudden resolu- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 161 

tion, took his course toward the shores of the Mediterranean, 
forced the passes of Olympus, and finally made a powerful 
settlement on the plains of Bythinia, within the acknowledged 
limits of the Roman empire. ■ He soon conquered a large part 
of western Asia. The Greeks and the Romans, divided and 
contending with each other, could make no serious resistance. 
This daring adventurer was succeeded by eight military lead- 
ers, whose genius was equalled only by their triumphs. On 
all sides of them, wherever they went, to raise the sword was 
the same thing as to conquer. Their successes, instead of 
satisfying their ambition, only fed it. The celebration of 
every victory was only the sumptuous beginning of one still 
greater. Conquest was the road to conquest. Every year, 
every day, every hour, they were pressing westward. Europe 
trembled. Cutting off one province of the Roman empire 
after another, they finally reduced it to the single city of Con- 
stantinople; and this, in the year 1453, they entered and 
sacked, thus making themselves masters of the world's me- 
tropolis, and planting themselves at the world's centre. This 
band of robbers, in 1832, though stripped of some of its fair- 
est dependencies by the Greek and Egyptian revolutions, still 
swayed a territory of more than nine hundred thousand square 
miles, and a population of over twenty millions. Being of 
Tartar origin, they held about as near a relation to the Mag- 
yars, in blood, in physical traits, in mental characteristics, as 
is held by the Germans to the Anglo-Saxons. The Turks, 
indeed, are the most natural friends and allies, which the 
Magyars have in Europe. 

Such is one nation to whioh the Hungarians are externally 
related. For the rise and progress of another, we turn our eyes 
to that long and cold strip of territory, which constitutes the 
eastern boundary of the Baltic. There, hovering abouit the 
numerous bays formed by tl • t inland sea, or ranging far out 
on its wind-swept surface, arose a race of pirates, whose name 
first appeared in history at about the middle of the ninth 

14* 



1G2 UUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

century. Not entirely satisfied with their uncertain and pre- 
datory life, a portion of thenij under the conduct of Ruric 
and his two brothers, migrated eastward into the interior of 
the country, conquered the Sclavic tribes then inhabiting it, 
and formed the nucleus of a kingdom. The government of 
this new state was a military despotism. The captain of the 
pirates was king, commander, lawgiver, and judicial magis- 
trate. Every thing submitted to his sole authority, as if he 
were still commanding his piratic fleets upon the water. His 
successors continued his mode of government and his victories. 
In the tenth century, the reigning sovereign, hapjiening to be 
at Constantinople, embraced Christianity, and adopted the 
creed of the Greek confession. The nation prudently followed 
his example. The great-grandson of Rurie married Anna, a 
Greek princess, concluded a treaty of alliance with her nation, 
and added many tracts of country to his possessions. The 
fall of the Greeks contributed more to the success of the 
Baltic pirates than their friendship. They had been often 
attacked, by the Mangols, by the Teutons, by the Swedes, by 
numerous tribes of northern savages, but they had not been 
conquered. Every attempt had only rought vengeance upon 
the head of the aggressor. Sometimes, it is true, the free- 
booters appeased their opponents by a little tribute, but, watch- 
ing their opportunity, they generally repaid themselves in full 
by the most terrible reprisals. At the close of the fifteenth 
century, they had annihilated all opposition, excepting an oc- 
casional attack from the side of Poland. In 1553, they made 
a treaty with Queen Elizabeth of England, when their name 
and power first became known in western Europe, through the 
enterprise of some British sailors, who had discovered the 
passage from England to Archangel. Treaty after treaty, 
with the leading Powers of Europe, followed. On, and still 
onward, went the empire of the Baltic pirates. In 1552, they 
conquered Kasan, in 1554, the kingdom of Astrakan, and, in 
1587, the whole of north-western Asia. Next, they spread 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 1G3 

their conquests westward to the boundaries of Norway and 
Denmark. The whole of Finland was then added to their 
dominions. A third of Poland soon widened their authority 
toward the south. From tlie Turks they took Kinbui-n, Asoph, 
Kabarda, and a large portion of the Crimea. On, and still 
onward, went the empire of the Baltic pirates. In 1783, 
they took possession of Little Tartary, which made them the 
arbiters of south-eastern Europe. In 1793-7, they seized 
nearly another third of Poland, by which this rival was 
brought to the very brink of dissolution. In 1800, the Re- 
public of the Seven Islands was erected and occupied by their 
garrisons, by which means their power was planted upon the 
bosom of the Mediterranean, from which it could menace at 
once the shores of Asia, Africa and Europe. In 1812, they 
acquired possession of the mouths of the Danube, with the 
adjacent provinces; and, in 1813, they completed their title 
to Greorgia and to the exclusive navigation of the Caspian. 
On, and still onward, went the empire of the Baltic pirates. 
In 1815, at Vienna, in 1818, at Aix-la-Chapelle, when the 
crowned heads of Europe were partitioning the world between 
them, the power of the pirates was predominant ; and, at this 
moment, it is supreme over the half of Europe, the whole of 
northern Asia and north-western America, and one-seventh 
of the habitable globe. With a population of sixty millions, 
and a standing army of one million, the empire of the Baltic 
pirates, whose subjects are different Sclavic tribes, are the 
nearest neighbors and most natural allies, not of the Magyars, 
but of the Hungarian Sclaves. 

The third great nation, with which Hungary has an external 
relationship, is equally wonderful in its origin, and in its rise 
to power and prominence. Toward the close of the twelfth 
century, within the bosom of one of the great armies of cru- 
saders, then occupying the kingdom of Jerusalem, arose a class 
of fanatical soldiers, under the title of Knights of the Teu- 
tonic Order, whose exploits are equally famous in history and 



164 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

in epic. The order was dedicated to the Virgin, the earthly 
dwelling-place of whose Son they bound themselves to rescue 
from the unbelievers, and defend against all opposition. Their 
purpose was at least a great one; their ambition was very lofty; 
their valor was undoubted ; and their personal appearance was 
attractive. Being all of them noblemen by birth, and pos- 
sessing sufficient wealth to support their affectation of mag- 
nificenccj their entrance upon the stage of public life, as a 
banded brotherhood, marks an era in the annals of that 
chivalric and martial period. Their under-dress was a suit 
of jet black, over which was thrown a cloak of the purest 
white, on the back of which was the figure of a black cross 
shaded with an edge of silver. The head-quarters of these 
Knights were first at the Holy City ; but, when the Turks 
had again taken possession of Jerusalem, they retired to 
Venice, and thence to Marburg. In the year 1229, they were 
invited by the Poles to give them their support against the 
Prussians, who were then pagans. After a struggle of fifty- 
three years, the Prussians were compelled to acknowledge the 
supremacy of the Order, which, without stopping to celebrate 
its triumph, at once proceeded to spread its power along the 
southern borders of the Baltic. Before 1525, a great part of 
the central section of northern Europe was held by these 
Knights, by paying a nominal homage to the crown of Po- 
land ; but, in that year, it was conferred by the Polish sove- 
reign on Albert of Brandenburg, grand-master of these Teu- 
tons, who was to govern and transmit it as a duchy of this 
kingdom. In 1657, the republic of Poland acknowledged the 
independent sovereignty of one of the successors of Prince 
Albert over all the territory at first granted to his house, and 
over other large possessions acquired since the grant was made 
it. Frederic, the third of the dukes, in 1701, put upon his 
own head the royal crown, having taken the title of Frederic 
the First. The kingdom was at once established. Its influ- 
ence was widely felt on the surrounding nations. Military in 



HUNOARY AND KOSSUTH. 1G5 

its organization, and imbued from the beginning with the 
military spirit, the end and aim of every enterprise, the object 
of every wish, was conquest. Frederic William the First, the 
successor of the first king,' established a military government, 
with a standing army of sixty or seventy thousand ; and the 
next successor, Frederic the Great, transformed the little king- 
dom into one of the great monarchies of Europe. In art, in 
science, in philosophy, in all the works of modern civilization, 
the small dukedom of the Teutonic Knights has become the 
soul and centre of the German empire, wielding an influence 
to the ends of the world. That influence has a threefold and 
even contradictory relation to the Hungarian kingdom. As a 
Teutonic influence, it is naturally allied to the interests of the 
Hungarian Germans. Its opposition to southern Germany, 
however, would cause it to take into its embrace the entire 
Magyar country ; but its constant and close connection with 
the empire of the Baltic pirates, the head and champion of the 
great Sclavie family, neutralizes its natural affinities, nullifies 
its more liberal policy, and makes it the instrument of that 
imperial despotism of the north, which, for its own purposes, 
incites and supports the Sclave against the Magyar, which 
always stands opposed to a nation having any tendency toward 
the doctrine of human freedom, and which resolves, sooner or 
later, to crush the last relic of civil liberty in Europe. 

There is one more great European nation to be marshalled 
into being, and set in its true position, in relation to the Mag- 
yar kingdom. Its history is not less wonderful than that of 
its three predecessors. On the banks of the Aar, in Switzer- 
land, toward the close of the eleventh century, a Christian 
bishop, by the name of Werner, built a fortified episcopal 
palace among the broken crags of a very lofty eminence. To 
those down in the deep valley of the river, the bishop's resi- 
dence seemed no bigger than a speck, and reminded the rude 
peasants of that Alpine region of what they had often seen 
among the mountains. The occupant of the airy dwelling, 



166 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

by the manner of his life, may have added something, in the 
way of association, to the resemblance. The peasantry called 
it, in their own language, Der Habichtsburg, which, in our 
tongue, is the Hawk's-Nest. If, at the first, this title was 
justly applied to it, it is certain that the successors of Bishop 
Werner gave ample reason for the application. They were as 
hawk-eyed, greedy, rapacious a set of priests, as ever rose up 
in any country. Seated in their high and inaccessible aery, 
far above the reach of either law or punishment, they watched 
the neighboring valleys with the keenest vigilance. Seizing 
their opportunities with the vulture's precision and penetration, 
they pounced upon every moving object, from which they ex- 
pected to draw nourishment for their craving appetite. Power 
was the object of their ambition. Their own particular dis- 
trict was at once reduced to absolute fear, dependance and 
subjection. The adjoining districts, or dioceses, next became 
the victims of their rapacity. In that barbarous age, when 
social distinctions were not nicely drawn, the lines of separa- 
tion between ecclesiastical and secular authority were very 
irregular and faint; and the bishops of the Hawk's-Nest found 
it not difficult gradually to annex a civil to their religious in- 
fluence. The little town that sprung up under their feet, 
which, from the name of their own residence, was also called 
Habichtsburg, by the natives corrupted into Hapsburg, was 
made the centre of several dioceses, of which the occupant of 
the high castle became the count. Still uniting the two kinds 
of sovereignty, the counts of Hapsburg, never for one moment 
forgetful of the sole object of their existence, and constantly 
adding to their power by making themselves the self-serving 
ministers of the pope, at the opening of the thirteenth cen- 
tury, began to draw the attention of the German states. The 
north-east of Switzerland had submitted to their dictation. 
Commanding the head-waters of the Rhine, as well as one of 
the principal passes of the Alps, both Italy and Germany were 
often under obligations to their politic generosity, or were stung 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 167 



by the severity and obstinacy of their power. Their territory, 
small as it was, defended by its Alpine walls, could defy the 
proudest barons of the land. Rhodolph, who became Count 
of Hapsburg in 1240, spread all over Switzerland the terror 
of his name. He sought to make quarrels with his friends, 
that, as in the case of young Hugh of Tuffenstein, he might 
have occasion to attack them and get possession of their 
estates. He raised the sword against his uncle and guardian, 
and, when the strife was over, demanded and received a strip 
from his relative's inheritance to repay him for the expenses 
of the war. Having borrowed money from another uncle, 
and being denied when he wished to borrow more, he paid the 
debt by endeavoring to seize the whole of his kinsman's patri- 
mony and conveying it to himself. Interfering with a civil 
war in Strasburg, he took possession of the city, and com- 
pelled its lawful ruler to purchase a restoration to the throne. 
As guardian to his cousin Anne, instead of defending and 
preserving her vast inheritance, he boldly and openly added it 
to his own. Full of all intrigue, he conquered many cities, 
among which was that of Zurich, by stratagems and ambus- 
cades. Espousing the cause of the citizens of Basle, who had 
risen against their magistrates, he was about to batter down 
the walls of the town, when, at midnight, a fleet messenger 
brought to him the intelligence, that the count of Hapsburg 
had been elected emperor of Germany by the unanimous suf- 
frage of the states. *° The emperor by no means put oflF the 
count. Ottocar, the duke of Austria, refused to acknowledge 
the elevation of the new sovereign, when Rhodolph, who could 
not be satisfied with any common penalty, grasped the scepter 
of his opponent by force of arms. That scepter never war 
restored. The provinces adjacent to Austria — Styria, Illyria, 
Corinthia and Carniola — were soon annexed, by warlike means, 

'" The bishop of Basle, on hearing the news, is said to have ex- 
claimed — "Sit fast, great God, or Rhodolph will occupy thy throne!" 
Coxe's House of Austria, vol. i. p. IG. 



168 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

to this ever-growiug and ever-ambitious house. Bohemia, with 
its dependencies, Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia, soon met with 
the same inevitable fate. Hungary was obtained by a mar- 
riage supported by the sword. Parts of Poland were acquired 
by unlawful force. Always grasping after the imperial crown, 
and frequently with success, the Hapsburg sovereigns ulti- 
mately reached a height of authority, by the use of which it 
became easy for them to settle in their own family the succes- 
sion to the German throne ; and when the crown of the Caesars 
had been worn by them for many generations, Francis the First 
ostentatiously resigned a bauble, no longer the ensign of power, 
declaring himself the emperor of Austria, which, indeed, under 
the ambitious rule of a long line of unscrupulous robbers, had 
swallowed up the Gi-erman empire and grown to be almost as 
large, quite as powerful, and decidedly more magisterial and 
intolerant, than that of ancient, iron-hearted, iron-handed 
Kome. The Castle of the Hawk's-Nest had become one of 
the capitals of the world. 

Such, then, are the external relations of the Magyar nation. 
At home, the Magyars are surrounded on all sides by Sclaves, 
in the midst of whom, hemmed in and hated as they are, they 
have maintained their supremacy for more than nine hundred 
years. The four great monarchies just described, Turkey, 
Russia, Prussia and Austria, all of them tyrannic govern- 
ments, constitute another wall — a wall of despotism averaging 
a thousand miles in width — by which they are entirely en- 
closed. Beyond this there is still another irregular circum- 
vallation of monarchical and despotic states, Asiatic, African 
and European, the most of which are but partners or depend- 
ants of the four, whose historical positions have been portrayed. 
Thus imprisoned, at the centre of a vast system of confederated 
despotisms, these friends of freedom, the champions of civil 
liberty, have borne up against every influence, have defended 
themselves against nearly all aggressions, have maintained at 
least the name of their historical and constitutional iudepend- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 169 

ence, since their original settlement in the land. The name 
of independence; however, it must be confessed, is about all 
they have been able to preserve. Successful against all na- 
tions, by whom their coiintry and institutions were openly 
attacked, in the earlier periods of their history, they have at 
last been compelled to yield to the pei"fidy, diplomacy and in- 
trigue of a monarchy, which, from its origin on the banks of 
Aar, has known no object but self-aggrandizement, no scruples 
but those of ambition, no means better than treachery and 
war. If ever they have dared to demand their rights, to ask 
for the restoration of their liberties, for the real as well as 
nominal acknowledgment of their happy and almost republican 
constitution, they have failed of success, for the last three 
hundred years, for the want of a sufficient European sympathy 
on which to lean in their day of need. Every patriotic effort 
was sure to rouse the hostility of the surrounding countries. 
Turkey, though their kindred in origin and in blood, could not 
favor a country of republican institutions. Russia, in every 
commotion, was certain to take the side of her Sclavic kins- 
men against the people, whose liberal constitution she addi- 
tionally despised. Prussia, ever since the fall of Poland, has 
been generally the secret or open ally of the Russian govern- 
ment. France and England, since the days of the French 
Revolution, have been maintaining the balance of Europe by 
a close connection with Austria and Turkey against the dreaded 
ambition of the Russias. The other states of Europe are no 
longer powers. They are nothing but dependants. Hungary, 
therefore, for three centuries, has been a forlorn captive, 
chained in a mighty prison-house of nations, without the means 
of self-liberation, without the hope of foreign interference, but 
in no way giving up to despondency, or relinquishing her faith 
in a happier and a better day. It is no dishonor, when her 
unfortunate position is carefully considered, that she has been 
in chains so long. It is her glory, that, in spite of her out- 
ward captivity, at heart she has been always and forever free. 

15 



170 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ATTEMPTS TO OVERTHROW THE HUNGARIAN NATIONALITY. 

We are told by the historian of the House of Austria, that 
Frederic the Third was accustomed to employ his leisure in 
the composition of a royal diary, and in the construction of 
enigmas and unintelligible anagrams. One of these anagrams 
was extremely curious. It was based upon the five vowels of 
the Roman alphabet. These letters, during the life-time of the 
emperor, were engraved upon his plate, and upon all the articles 
of his household furniture. His visitors used to be perplexed 
in seeing them at the table, in his halls, on the covers of his 
books, and everywhere throughout his palace. Thousands 
made the attempt to interpret them. All attempts, however, 
proved fruitless. They continued to be, till the day of his 
death, an unsolved mystery, the wonder of his generation. 
After his demise the riddle was explained. On one of the 
leaves of his diary, his executor found the following singular 
inscription : 

A.ustria T^st Tiiiperare /^I'bi TTni verso, 

lies Jjirdreich Xst \_/esterreich U nterthan.* 

It seems, therefore, that, years before the Hungarian mo- 
narchy was united to that of Austria, one of the leading mem- 
bers of the Austrian family of kiugs had expressed the well- 
known policy of his house, though the time for making it 
public had not arrived. It did not originate, however, with 
Frederic. It had been the actuating spirit of every one of 
his predecessors. It was born in the breast of the first occu- 
pant of the Hawk's-Nest. From the priest it had descended 

' Coxe's House of AuHtria, vol, i. p. 277, and Fugger, p. 1080. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 171 

to the count, from the count to the duke, from the duke to 
the king, and from the king of a single nation, and that a 
small one, to the sole monarch of half a score of realms. It 
had grown with the growth of power. All that can be said 
of Frederic is, that he wished to see how it would look in 
words, but, the better to conceal it from the jealousy of other 
nations, and still to preserve it in a memorable form, for the 
benefit of his own subjects, and especially of his successors, 
he vailed it in the manner above mentioned. Whether he 
expected, when writing out the resolution of the imperial 
riddle, in his secret journal, that it would ever be given to the 
world, is not a question. He evidently intended it only for 
those, whom it was designed to prompt to greater energy, in 
the only business of his family. But whoever will now read 
the bloody and ambitious history of this family will not need 
the riddle, or the resolution of it, to point out to him the one, 
unalterable, untiring purpose of every member of it, crowned 
and uncrowned, since it was brought into being among the 
Alpine crags. This plain and positive declaration of the em- 
peror is proof enough, it is true, of the ruling object of the 
Hapsburgs, in all their relations to other lands; but their 
recorded acts, through a long line of princes, and through the 
space of many centuries, in respect to the race and country 
of the Magyars, furnish a better and clearer exposition of that 
object, than any royal enigma could afford. 

Hungary, as we have seen, was originally an independent 
country, bound by no allegiance to any foreign power. The 
conquest, gained by Attila and his Huns over the Sarmatian, 
Gothic, and Roman inhabitants of Daeia and Pannonia, was 
complete; and the Magyars, by conquering the Huns, acquired 
as good a title to the whole land, as had been vested in their 
predecessors. 

It has been said, however, that, in either case, a military 
title is an imperfect tenure ; but, should the present genera- 
tion undertake and effect a revolution upon this subject^ not 



172 HUNGAEY AND KOSSUTH. 

only Hungary, but eveiy other settled and civilized nation, in 
America and in Europe, would have to relinquish their exist- 
ence. It vs^ould be utterly impossible, on this or the other 
side of the Atlantic, to find the remnants of a people, to whom 
the sovereignties of the several enlightened states could be, 
with historical and legal accm-aey, resigned ; for, though it 
would not be difficult to discover, in all these states, some 
fragments of our nearest predecessors, it is now well known, 
that they were themselves the conquerors of other peoples, 
who held prior possession of the countries. In England, it 
might be possible for the present rulers, who represent the 
Norman conquerors, to yield their supremacy to the living 
descendants of the original Anglo-Saxons ; but, by the same 
theory, the crown could not easily pass backward, through the 
Danes, Saxons, and Eomans, to the present race of Britons. 
In America, we should be compiled to dissolve the existing 
republic, and call back the red men of our eastern and west- 
ern forests, to exercise dominion over us; and even these, 
before they could take command, would.be bound to quit their 
claim in behalf of that unknown people, who, ages prior to 
their captivity or annihilation, by the modern Indian tribes, 
enjoyed the possession of our hills and valleys. In Hungary, 
the task of retro-cession would be still more difficult; and the 
Magyars, who have held their country more than three times 
as long as we have held our own, and by exactly the same 
title, have always been, and are yet, a sovereign and inde- 
pendent people. Though surrounded by their conquered 
countrymen, the Sclaves, they are no more bound to abdicate 
in their favor, than the English are bound to deliver their 
sceptre to the Welsh, or the Americans to the- descendants of 
Red Jacket and King Philip. The instincts of humanity, 
and the practice of all nations, as well as the laws of neces- 
sity, establish the validity of the Magyar claim to all the 
territories and dependencies of Hungary. 

The land of the Magyar is not only legally and justly his 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTU. 173 

possession, according to the law of nations, together with all 
its associated provinces, but his title has been ratified, in the 
usual form, by the surrounding states for a long course of ages. 
The supremacy of the dohiinant race has been thus legally 
established. It has received, also, a still higher ratification. 
It has been acknowledged, for many centuries, by the Sclavic 
provinces themselves. Not only their constitutions, but their 
statute laws, as well as every thing pertaining to their local 
governments, have constantly recognised themselves, during 
all this time, as dependencies of Hungary, of which the Mag- 
yars have ever been the ruling people. The French in Canada 
might as rightfully throw up their connection with the Pro- 
vincial Parliament, in which the Anglo-Saxon influence is 
justly paramount, or with the Imperial Parliament of Great 
Britain, as the Sclaves of Hungary could renounce their long- 
standing and legally-established relations to the race that con- 
quered them. 

Nor can it be denied, indeed, that the victorious people have 
granted much greater liberty to the subject race, ever since 
their subjugation, than it has been convenient for England to 
grant to the French in her North American possessions. This 
is a part of the domestic history of Hungary, which, by nearly 
all foreigners, has been too little understood, or too partially 
considered. The Sclaves of Croatia and Sclavonia, which arc 
united in their local administration, have always enjoyed a 
municipal independence. They have their own General As- 
sembly, or Diet, which meets at their capital of Agram, where 
all their private matters are discussed and settled according 
to their own wishes. The National Assembly has ever been 
characteristically generous and high-minded in its liberality 
toward them. These Sclavonic provinces, in their separate 
capacity, have borne about the same relation to the Hungarian 
kingdom, that the counties of Hungary, properly so called, 
have had to the same general government. They have been 
cordially admitted into the common fellowship of the nation. 

15* 



174 IIUNQARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Transylvania, too, -which forms a still larger portion of the 
kingdom, has its own Diet at Hermanstadt, its capital, and 
there exercises' all the functions of self-government, in all 
affairs of a merely provincial interest. Never, perhaps, in the 
history of conquests, has a conquering race been more mag- 
nanimous to the conquered. 

This local independence of the provinces and counties is 
one of the most remarkable features of the Hungarian consti- 
tution, having no parallel, perhaps, excepting in the independ- 
ent but united states of our own great republic. There is no 
difference amoDg these constituent parts of the nation, whether 
their inhabitants are Magyars, or Sclaves, or Saxons. Not 
only do all of them elect their own officers, in their own way, 
and send delegates to the National Assembly to represent their 
interests according to the instructions given them, but they 
have the sole management of their municipal affairs, in which 
the national government has asserted no right to interfere. 
They assess and collect their own taxes, make and repair their 
own roads, erect their own bridges, cut their own canals, and 
perform allother acts of private sovereignty not inconsistent 
with their relations to each other as one confederated govern- 
ment. The king himself can execute the laws of the National 
Assembly only through the county and provincial officers, who, 
responsible to their constituents only, cannot be compelled to 
serve a mandate not acceptable to tho people. By the Bulla 
Aurea, too, of King Andreas the Second, the legal voters of 
the counties haye a right to take up arms against a monarchy, 
who attempts to violate the constitution, without incurring 
any legal blame. So thoroughly democratic is this Magyar 
kingdom, that, in one particular, if not in more than one, the 
people have retained a prerogative dangerous to the efficiency, 
if not to the integrity, of the general government. When a 
county sees fit to resist the execution of any unpopular enact- 
ment of the Assembly, of mandate of the king, should it know 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 175 

of any neigliboring states friendly to its private views, it has 
the privilege of concluding treaties with those states, offensive 
and defensive, as if it had no connection with the monarchy 
of which it professedly fortns a part. This excess of demo- 
cracy, however, is a sufficient proof of the republican spirit 
of the nation. 

According to the fundamental laws of the country, there- 
fore, Hungary has always been a popular government, and, in 
every thing but the name, a republic. It is true, in the two 
provinces of Upper and Lower Hungary, the Magyars at first 
asserted certain political privileges, which they did not grant 
to their conquered fellow-citizens ; and the same is true, as 
we have seen, and with still greater emphasis, in our own 
country respecting our aboriginal inhabitants. The distinc- 
tion, however, has long since been regarded as a dead letter ; 
while, in no part of the kingdom, has there ever been so wide 
a difference as exists between the two races in our southern 
States, where no conquest can be quoted, but whose republican- 
ism has always been legally and universally acknowledged. 
In all the other provinces, the Magyar has never claimed any 
more rights, than he has freely and fully granted to his Sclavic 
and Saxon brethren. All over the kingdom, from the earliest 
times, the superior state-officers have been almost entirely 
raised to their respective posts by popular election ; the ex- 
ceptions to this general custom have been less numerous than 
in the states of the American Union ; and the king himself, 
as well as the duke before him, elevated by the same means, 
has not only been thus the responsible representative of a free 
nation, but the possessor of less power, by the original con- 
stitution, than is exercised by an American President. The 
National Assembly has ever had less authority than our 
Congress. The people of Hungary, always a liberty-loving 
people, from the time when their first Oberhaupt was elected 
till the total extinction of his lineage, have ever maintained 



176 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

more of the forms and functions of local self-government, 
than have the people of our own republic.^ 

So jealous, indeed, have the Hungarians always been of 
regal domination, and so determined to secure their popular 
institutions against every possibility of the centralization of 
their powers in the hands of their sovereigns, that, when first 
transferring their crown to a foreign prince, they caused him 
to swear, in the presence of Grod, to maintain the integrity of 
the country and of its constitution. This oath is one of the 
most solemn and emphatic ever taken upon the lips of any 
mortal. It is too plain for the least opportunity of misunder- 
standing or equivocation. It has been pronounced, under the 
most open and imposing circumstances, by every Austrian 
king of Hungary since the coronation of the first Ferdinand. 
Alas ! it is the oath by which every one of them, without an 
exception, is guilty of the blackest perjury. Let us proceed 
to enumerate the several charges, which impartial history has 
to bring, in this relation, against this line of princes. We 
shall see whether the anagram of Frederic was an unmeaning 
riddle. 

It must be remembered, that the same man, who, as king 
of Hungary, is a limited monarch, checked on every side by 
the constitutional liberties of his subjects, as emperor of 
Austria is possessed of a regal authority entirely absolute. 
This right of absolute domination is, of course, his darling 
attribute ; and the provinces of his empire, where his will is 
irresistible, are his darling provinces. So far as it can be 
possible for such a ruler to confer lasting favors upon a peo- 
ple, so far would the Austrian despots very naturally exert 
themselves to give a greater apparent prosperity to the im- 



^ Paget's Hungary and Transylvania, vol. i. chap, xviii. passim, 
and J. Toulmin Smith's Parallels between England and Hungary, 
pp. 18-58 inclusive. Smith is particularly to be examined on this 
subject. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 177 

perial, than to the royal and constitutional, parts of their 
dominions. Could the subject be made to believe, that his 
fortune is easier, that his success in life is more certain, in 
those portions of the wide Tealm, where the emperor is sole 
master, than where his prerogatives and powers are restrained 
by popular limitations, a decisive work would be accomplished 
on the side of tyranny, and a sure step taken toward the ulti- 
mate establishment of*his despotic sway over the other por- 
tions. This, indeed, is the first article in a system of policy, 
by which the House of Austria has been endeavoring, for 
more than three centuries, to subjugate the Hungarian nation, 
and to rob it of its liberties, of its constitution, and of its 
independence. A most glaring and iniquitous favoritism, re- 
specting all the branches of human industry, in the encourage- 
ment of talent and ambition, and in the assessment and col- 
lection of the revenue, has been practised. In Hungary, 
agriculture, manufactures and commerce have been discouraged, 
while, in the imperial provinces, such rewards and bounties 
have been offered as always develop the resources of a nation. 
On those immense tracts of land belonging directly to the 
king, particularly on such as were within the boundaries of 
Hungary, every mode of expenditure has been lavished, by 
which the happiness and contentment of their inhabitants, 
and an invidious comparison with the lands held by the other 
part of the population, could be secured. In the Banat, for 
example, where whole counties are the personal property of 
the monarch, this system of royal partiality has been carried 
to the highest pitch.^ All over Hungary, however, wherever 
the Hapsburg monarch has had possessions, these substantial 
and powerful though sophistical arguments have been stamped 
upon the soil, upon the public improvements, and, as far as 
possible, upon the convictions of a poor, short-sighted and 

' Paget's Hungary and Transylvania, vol. ii. p. 60, American 
edition. 



178 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

superficial people. In all otlier portions of the country, the 
iron sway of a foreign rule has repressed all enterprise, dis- 
couraged all improvement, and so loaded the laboring classes 
with an illegal system of indirect taxation, that they long 
since sank into an almost hopeless poverty. The internal taxes 
of tlie kingdom the monarchs could not touch ; but they could 
make every article imported into Hungary, and every article 
exported from it, pay the most enormous duties; and, thus 
doubling their malice, they could not only wrench a vast reve- 
nue for themselves by the first of these cruel practices, but by 
the second actually prohibit and annihilate . the productive 
operations of the country. The hard-working peasant of Gal- 
licia, beyond the north-east border of Hungary, over the 
Carpathian mountains, has been compelled to import his 
scythes from the Austrian province of Styria, beyond the 
south-western limit of the kingdom, though the Hungarians 
have been manufacturing a superior article at Gbmar, almost 
within sight of the green valleys where the demand for them 
has existed.* All joiner-work, done in Hungary, has had to 
pay a duty of one hundred per centum, while many other 
trades and professions have been, by the same means, pro- 
hibited. The capital and talent of other portions of the world 
have been industriously discouraged from seeking employ- 
ment in the doomed and desolated country ; for not only have 
the foreign monarchs, their servants and their subjects, united 
to slander the opportunities, which it holds forth to enter- 
prising strangers, but G-erman political economists, like the 
well-known List, have been paid for writing and publishing 
against it the most false and serious libels. For the last fifty 



* Pulsky, vol. i. p. 5. The Banat is known to be full of coal ; and 
yet, o"wing to this system of partiality, it is as dear at home as that 
brought from England by the way of Constantinople ! Paget, vol. ii. 
p. 54. The duty on salt is a stiU worse specimen of maladministra- 
tion. Paget, vol. ii. p. 170. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 179 

years, wlienever an inquisitive traveler has arrived at Vienna, 
and proposed to visit and explore the interdicted region, he 
has been clamorously informed, that Hungary is a land of 
wolves and other wild beasts, and of a still wilder and wickeder 
population; where there are neither roads, nor bridges, nor 
means of travel ; whose inhabitants wander, in forlorn groups, 
either naked, or clad in the coarsest and dirtiest sheep-skins ; 
and in which a man's life would be taken for a cup of Karlo- 
wicz, or the value of a kreutzer ! ^ 

But the Austrian kings have not limited their aggressions, 
against the liberties and independence of Hungary, by such a 
peaceable though contemptible opposition. Ferdinand the 
First, it will be remembered, acquired the crown of St. Ste- 
phen by a long and most bloody war, which he waged against 
John Zapolya, the rightful heir, whom the Hungarian Diet, 
in 1526, as well as the estates of Sclavonia, had unanimously 



' City of the Magyar, and Pulsky's Memoirs, passim. The news- 
papers of Vienna are now holding the same language. Paget opens 
his great work with the following passage: — "The reader would 
certainly laugh, as I have often done since, did I tell him one-half 
of the foolish tales the good Viennese told us of the country we 
were about to visit. No roads ! no inns 1 no police ! we must sleep 
on the ground, eat where we could, and be ready to defend our 
purses and our lives at every moment ! In full credence of these 
reports, we provided ourselves most plentifully with arms, which 
were carefully loaded, and placed ready for immediate use ; for, as 
we heard that nothing but fighting would carry us through, we de- 
termined to put the best face we could upon the matter. It may, 
however, ease the reader's mind to know, that no occasion to shoot 
any thing more formidable than a partridge, or a hare, ever presented 
itself; and that we finished our journey with the full conviction, 
that traveling in Hungary was just as safe as traveling in England!" 
The writer subsequently gives us the reason for the circulation of 
these fearful stories. " The Hungarians do sometimes talk about 
liberty, constitutional rights, and other such terrible things !" Pa- 
get's Hungary and Transylvania, vol. i. pp. 13 and 14. 



180 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

elected to the throne left vacant by the death of the Second 
Louis on the field of Mohacz. To gain the higher nobles of 
the kingdom to his cause, he tendered to them a written mani- 
festo, while the fortunes of the day were against him, declar- 
ing, that, in the event of his success, "he would preserve 
inviolate all the rights and liberties of Hungary," with the 
same fidelity as if he had been a native and lawful prince. 
Some of the great nobility turned traitors and went over to 
the usurper. Zapolya was not at once defeated. In 1538, a 
treaty was concluded between the combatants, styled the 
Peace of G-rosswardein, by which it was agreed, that hostilities 
should cease between them; that, ad interim, Ferdinand 
should be obeyed in the west, and Zapolya in the east of 
Hungary ; and that, should Zapolya die during the continu- 
ance of this armistice, Ferdinand and John Sigismund, Za- 
polya's son, were to divide the kingdom between them. In 
1540, Zapolya died; and, in the same year, the Turks invaded 
and conquered the country as far west as Buda. Ferdinand 
died in 1564, after acknowledging the right of Sigismund to 
eastern Hungary, leaving the western portion to his own son, 
Maximilian. The death of John Sigismund, in 1571, con- 
ferred his right of sovereignty upon Stephen Bathory, one of 
the greatest of the Hungarian statesmen; but Bhodolph, the 
successor of Maximilian, not only despised his opponent, but 
gave existence to that long struggle, now just closed by the 
butcheries of Haynau, by which the destruction of the Hun- 
garian Constitution was to be effected by the combined instru- 
mentalities of treachery, stratagem and blood. His successors, 
Matthias and Ferdinand, pursued the same determination ; 
and Leopold the First, by waging a war of extermination 
against the free princes of Transylvania, by securing the 
elevation of his cruel instrument, John Kemeny, to the 
principality thus bereaved, and by the massacre of thousands 
of the citizens of Hungary, who had risen to defend the 
constitutional liberties of their native land, not only forced 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 181 

the election of his son, Joseph, to the succession of St. Ste- 
phen, but compelled the prostrate Diet to acknowledge and 
proclaim that son their hereditary monarch. The same bloody 
weapons, therefore, by Which the sacred crown had been 
snatched from its lawful owners and laid upon the brow of a 
foreign tyrant, now conferred the eternal succession of that 
ensign of royalty, with all the majesty it confers, upon the 
male offspring of the original usurper. 

To illustrate the manner by which this foul work was done, 
a single example may be taken from the reign of Leopold. 
Immediately after bis accession, he had avowed his purpose, 
to some of his confidential servants, of "exterminating the 
Magyar race," as the people that gave the Austrian monarchy 
all its trouble. He had abolished their Constitution. He 
had governed them, without calling their Legislature together, 
by imperial mandates. He had made the crown hereditary in 
his family. He had made himself an absolute and irrespon- 
sible sovereign over a once free, constitutional and independent 
kingdom. Foreseeing that so spirited a people could not be 
expected to suffer thus without resistance, he struck out a plan 
of keeping them in silence, which would do no injustice to the 
character of an infernal spirit. In the north of Hungary, he 
erected what has been fitly called the Bloody Theatre of Epe- 
ries, headed by the infamous Caraffa, and provided with thirty 
executioners. It was the duty of this tribunal to examine 
the opinions of the leading Magyars, and to punish such as 
were found guilty of harboring any attachment to the prostrate 
liberties of the nation. The judge of this wicked inquisition 
used to say, that, " if one of his pulses should beat for Hun- 
gary, he would cut it out and burn it." Not only men, but 
women and children, were haled before this bench, where 
thousands of them, as innocent as angels, were tried, con- 
demned and executed, if such a farce can be called a trial, 
without a hearing or a witness. The entire land was searched 
for patriots. The blood-hounds of the imperial tyrant tracked 

IG 



182 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the footsteps of every citizen. Spies were employed for every 
city. They were planted in every house. No place was so 
secret, none so sacred, as to defend its occupants from the 
most critical inspection. Men were beheaded for lamenting to 
their wives, in their private chambers, the unhappy condition 
of their country. Wives were led to a similar fate for listen- 
ing to the voices of their husbands. Children of tender years, 
whose only crime was that of having an executed patriot for 
a parent, were brought before this court, which ordered their 
brains to be dashed out against the posts of this Austrian 
guillotine. The ill-fated victims, against whom no witnesses 
could be brought, were put to the most excrutiating tortures, 
and compelled to accuse themselves, or to die as obstinate 
traitors, if they made no confession. Such was the determi- 
nation, such the temper of these despots. Whoever admires 
the subsequent success, and power, and grandeur of the des- 
potism of Austria, or whoever dares defend it, let him re- 
member the means by which that despotism was established ! " 
The National Assembly, in the year 1620, having become 
satisfied of the revolutionary intentions of the throne, met 
and lawfully deposed their king, Ferdinand the Second, who, 
by breaking his oath and the constitution, had forfeited even 
his own unjust pretensions to the Hungarian crown. They 
elevated Gabriel Bethlen to his place. For nine years Bethlen 
was acknowledged as their legal monarch. On his demise, in 
1629, G-eorge Riikdczy, whose patriotic spirit was the glory 
of the people, received the high office by the suffrages of the 
nation. Thus, according to two perfectly constitutional acts, 
the line of succession in the Austrian house was broken, an- 
nulled, abrogated by the highest authority of the kingdom. 
These acts have never been reversed. From that day to this, 
by the fundamental laws of Hungary, the emperors of Austria 
have been, when constitutionally considered, nothing more than 

" Coxe's House of Austria, vol. ii. chap. C6, p. 1083. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 188 

successful intruders, whom the nation has been compelled to 
receive under martial force. James the Second, in 1G88, was 
expelled from the throne of England ; his crimes were pre- 
cisely those alleged by the Magyars against the Hapsburgs ; 
he was deposed exactly as the Austrians were deposed; and, 
therefore, if the descendants of the latter have any legal 
claims to Hungary, the offspring of the former are, at this 
moment, by a much stronger title, the rightful monarchs of 
the British empire.'' 

Right and wrong, however, are nearly synonyms with such 
a race of tyrants as the imperial kings of Hungary have been. 
The next three sovereigns, Joseph the First, Charles the Sixth 
and the celebrated Maria Theresa, changing the instruments 
but not the policy of their house, undertook to overthrow the 
Hungarian Constitution, not by arms, but by dissimulation, 
flattery and persuasion. 

In the year 1708, Joseph assembled the Diet at Pressburg, 
where he made a great many specious and flattering promises 
to the representatives of the nation. His predecessors had 
been engaged in bloody wars, the object of which had been 
to overturn the popular constitution of St. Stephen. He now 
promised the Hungarians a total cessation of hostilities, and a 
great many additional blessings, on condition of their yielding 
to him the free election of one of their most important officers, 
their demand for the acknowledgment of their constitutional 
immunities and liberties under the sanction of certain foreign 
powers, and several other things in which was clearly involved 
the annihilation of their constitution. The National Assembly 
could not be moved by the soft speeches of the monarch ; and 
he, to secure a temporary tranquility for the accomplishment 
of some other purposes, which he had at heart, granted a peace 
without conditions. He died, however, in 1711, before this 
last act of his reign, called the Peace of Szathmiir, was ratified. 

' Smith's Parallels of England and Hungary, pp. 40 to 48 inclusive. 



184 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Charles the Sixth of Austria, the third of his name in 
Hungary, inherited the absolutism and intolerance of Leopold, 
his father. His weapon was flattery. He confirmed the Peace 
of Szathmar. He always spoke in the highest terms, in the 
presence of the Hungarians, of his " dear Hungary" — " cara 
Hungaria" — declaring his Magyar subjects to be the most 
magnanimous and grateful of all people. His predecessors 
had governed the kingdom by means of the Hungarian Chan- 
cery located at Vienna. He, on the contrary, always expressed 
the wish of doing the most important portion of his work in 
person. They, by one excuse after another, had evaded their 
sacred pledge to spend a part of each year at the Hungarian 
capital. He, to show his paternal love, made no such excuses, 
but actually went to Pressburg, at three several times, and 
took his place in the House of Magnates. The magnanimity 
and gratitude of the Hungarians were equal to the royal 
eulogies. The Magyars forgot their grievances. In the no- 
bleness of their nature they forgot, too, their duty to them- 
selves, to their country, and to posterity. Twelve years of 
artful flattery, supported by a very moderate use of imperial 
authority, had so far closed the eyes of the whole nation, that, 
in the year 1723, they not only confirmed the doctrine of 
hereditary succession^ but, by the passage of the Pragmatic 
Sanction, extended the right of the inheritance to the female 
heirs of their Austrian sovereigns. The grant is made, how- 
ever, on the express condition, so constantly maintained by 
every generation of the people, that the liberties and integrity 
of the kingdom be kept inviolate. It is the faithful observ- 
ance of this condition, placed last in the important document, 
that it might always in the perusal of it make the last im- 
pression upon king and subject, by which the gi'ant is to be 
preserved in its life and force. As in all other contracts, or 
covenants, one violation of thit essential condition, by any 
king of Hungary, absolves the .pie from the obligation of 
continuing the gift; and it m\. „ be particularly noted, that, 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 185 



notwithstanding the fair words of Charles, and the apparent 
willingness of the National Assembly to bestow it, the gift 
was made by a nation reduced to despair by a war waged by 
its kings upon it, and menaced, though not in words, with 
still bloodier oppressions in case of a refusal.^ 

The Pragmatic Sanction was proposed and passed to open 
the way for the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Charles 
the Sixth, Maria Theresa, to the Hungarian throne. Her 
right to it was at once contested by a male heir of her house, 
the elector Charles Albrecht, who declared the document just 
mentioned to be unconstitutional and consequently void. His 
position, undoubtedly correct, was supported by all the conti- 
nental governments of Europe. In her last extremity, the 
young queen fled for safety to her Hungarian subjects, who, 
struck with her beauty, her accomplishments and her distress, 
unwittingly or unselfishly pledged to her their support. They 
might now have easily declared and maintained their inde- 
pendence. They might have recovered, by a single act of 
pardonable self-respect, every thing they had lost. But their 
antagonist was an unprotected female. She had trusted to 
their generosity in confiding to them her cause. With her 
little Joseph in her arms, she had presented herself before 
the representatives of the nation, weeping in the anguish and 
bitterness of her heart. The tears of a distressed woman are 
always eloquent ; and they have a sort of omnipotence with 
persons of a feeling and generous turn of mind. Such were 
the Magyars before whom she stood. They could not, they 
would not, be selfish in an hour like that. The old cavaliers, 

' The present sovereign, Francis Joseph, repudiates the conces- 
sions of his immediate predece'-sor, on the ground that they were 
made while under fear and force. Should the Hungarians apply the 
same argument to all the grants of title ever made by themselves to 
the emperors, on which alone ♦ * rights of these emperors are based, 
how suddenly the "legitimate' ereignty" of Austria over Hungary 
would evaporate ! 

IG* 



186 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

burying tlie wrongs of their nation in the depths of their 
magnanimous compassion, rose up and brandished their sharp 
swords. The commons stamped their feet with an outburst 
of emotion. Through both chambers, and from the chambers 
over all the land, the national watchword — "sanguinem ct 
vitam" — clamorously went forth. The word of the Magyar 
was enough. 

No sooner had Maria, by the help of her Hungarian sup- 
porters, taken possession of the throne of her ancestors, than 
she discovered the characteristic trait by which her relationship 
to the Hapsburgs was clearly proved. Having reached her 
position by force of arms, she resolved to act the part of a 
conqueror, by uniting all the subjugated kingdoms and pro- 
vinces into one glorious realm. With a woman's ardor, she 
proceeded at once with her mighty business, forgetful of the 
vast difficulties in her way. The independence of several of 
these parts of her dominion, and the peculiar rights and 
reservations of them all, had been guaranteed by the oaths 
of every king before her, as well as by her own. The Hun- 
garians, in particular, by whom she had been raised to power, 
deserved a special consideration. But, though not an ungrate- 
ful woman, as a monarch she had the gratitude only of her 
house. This, whenever it conflicted with the family ambition, 
was no gratitude at all. The work of demolition went for- 
ward. Centralization was the order of the day. All the 
kingdoms, provinces and dependencies, over which she ruled, 
must resign their nationalities, and fall into the great nation- 
ality undertaken to be formed. The identities of all these 
states, and fractions of states, as well as the identities of all 
the individuals of which they had been composed, must con- 
sent to be swallowed up in a new and unknown something, of 
which no one could draw to himself a very tangible idea. 
There was to be no longer such a being as a German, or an 
Italian, or a Bohemian, or a Magyar, or a Sclave. All were 
to be Austrians from that plastic hour. All were to be equally 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 187 

related to a common throne. That throne, like a sun in the 
centre of the heavens, was not only to govern the motions of 
all this complicated system of dependent bodies, but throw out 
upon them a ceaseless flood of light, and life, and even liberty, 
while all together should fulfil the prophecy or the threat of 
Frederic, and rule the nations of the globe. 

In the execution of this scheme, Maria had only one race 
to fear. The Grermans in Austria were then, as they are yet, 
few in number. The Sclaves of Bohemia, of Gallicia, of 
Hungary, were, as they have been described, but little more 
than slaves. The Italians were too much divided among them- 
selves to give her any serious trouble. The Magyars, how- 
ever, so soon as they should see her object, were sure to rise 
in opposition to her plans. The politic and crafty sovereign 
was determined to silence them, to close their eyes, till her 
points were gained. She shackled them with her favors and 
dazzled them with her smiles. Her whole administration was 
a succession of seeming demonstrations, that, whatever might 
be the end aimed at by the royal reformer, the Magyar was 
winning every thing he desired. She committed her person 
entirely to his keeping. Hungarians were almost the only 
servants and ministers she employed. She gave them all the 
eclat and glory of her reign. Their Constitution she always 
enthusiastically applauded, though, at the same time, she 
governed them as if there never had been such a constitution 
in the world. Like a serpent, which, fixing his eye upon a 
bird, puts forth his gayest colors, his blandest look, his subtlest 
and most secret charms, concealing the venom of his tooth 
and the flashing of his fiery tongue, till the poor victim of his 
lust is lured within the reach of his sudden spring, so the 
queen captivated the nation by her charms. Before the Hun- 
garians saw their danger, they were caught ; and when, in 
1770, Maria was carried to her grave, she had laid down and 
established the precedent of governing a constitutional king- 
dom without respect to its constitution, the place of which 



188 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

had been supplied by the imperial decrees. When the Mag- 
yar, shaking off the spell by which he had been bound for a 
period of just thirty years, rose to self consciousness again, he 
found himself stripped of his liberties, despoiled of his coun- 
try, robbed of his nationality and independence, acting the 
part of a favorite footman to that triumphal car, in which 
Austrian despotism displayed its glory and its power. 

Joseph the Second, son and successor of Maria, carried to 
the throne all the ambition, but no portion of the personal or 
political suavity of his mother. In the unchanging spirit of 
a Hapsburg, he resolved to take up the work of Austrian ag- 
grandizement exactly where his predecessor had laid it down. 
She, at the moment of her death, had just reached the point, 
where she could have safely avowed the secret policy of her 
house. She died, in fact, with the declaration of that policy 
on her lips. Joseph, feeling his situation to be sufficiently 
secure, threw off the long-worn mask. The anagram of 
Frederic now came to light. Austria now confessed, that she 
determined to rule, at least, a large portion of the world. On 
the day of his coronation, the new king offered an insult to 
the Hungarian nation, which was to try its spirit and settle 
the question, whether it was ready to acknowledge itself a slave. 
He refused to be crowned in Hungary. He spurned the 
coronation oath, by which all his predecessors had bound 
themselves to maintain the Hungarian nationality and consti- 
tution, and without which he could not be a lawful king. He 
positively and openly rejected the constitution. He abolished 
the municipal self-government, of the villages and counties. 
He declared the entire government of the kingdom, legislative, 
executive and judicial, to be no part of the business of the 
people, but the inalienable prerogative and property of the 
crown. That crown was his by hereditary descent ; and he 
needed no election, no coronation, nothing that the Hungarian 
people could do for him, to make him king. They were his 
subjects, not his constituents, or his fellow-citizens. The goal, 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 189 

SO long aimed at, was now attained. The work of centraliza- 
tion was complete. Despotism had nothing more to do. 
Austria was all. Hungary was no more ! At the death of 
Francis the First, in 1832, who had followed the brief reign 
of his immediate predecessor, Leopold the Second, Joseph's 
successor, with a long course of tyranny, the Hungarian con- 
stitution was a thing generally unmentioned. It was not dead, 
and buried, but, with the world at large, as unthought of as 
if it had never been ! 

When the constitution of a people is abolished, the next 
step toward the total destruction of their nationality is to sup- 
press their religion. It is particularly necessary to do this, 
if that religion happens to be on the side of freedom. Such 
was the religion of the Magyars at the time when the House 
of the Hapsburgs seized the crown of Stephen. The Magyars 
were then Protestants. The first article of their faith was 
that of religious liberty. Keligious liberty is the certain 
harbinger, at all times and places, of civil liberty. This was 
understood by the Austrian tyrants, who, as the champions 
of absolutism, could not behold, without a struggle, the esta- 
blishment of a system of free worship. As the avowed de- 
fenders of Catholicism in Europe, they were bound to abet 
the efforts of the Roman pontiffs, in their attempt to extermi- 
nate the Reformation. Resolved to eradicate the whole Mag- 
yar race from Hungary, they could not fail to make their zeal 
for Christianity a pretext to cover their malicious purpose. 
They clearly saw their position and their interest ; and they 
were never known to be slack in any thing involving the great 
object of their ambition. Their work was undertaken with 
their characteristic spirit. No charity was to be exercised to- 
ward the Magyars. A foul spot was now upon them, which 
rendered them doubly odious to all the other races, which 
made it popular to hate them, and which rendered it a piece 
of piety in the monarchs to oppress them. Their first move- 
ment illustrates the depth and breadth of their despotic spirit, 



190 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

as well as the readiness and freedom of its action, when there 
is no fear of impolicy in the way to check it. It clearly 
demonstrates what they would always do, could they, at all 
times, freely act out their nature. The movement was prompt 
enough to satisfy the temper of any tyrant. An imperial de- 
cree, repeating the words of an older one promulgated by one 
of their predecessors, was proclaimed and published. It was 
posted, on every thing capable of holding a placard, through- 
out the kingdom. It was not a lengthy document. Except- 
ing the date, address and signature, two Latin words embraced 
the whole of it ; and, in our tongue, its brevity is almost as 
startling : " The Lutherans must be burnt \"^ 

It is scarcely necessary to relate with what energy such a 
decree, under such circumstances, would be executed by such 
a race of despots. The first act of Rhodolph the Second was 
a plan for the extermination of the Protestants. He recalled 
the few Catholic nobles of Hungary, whom the doctrines of 
Luther had not reached, to resume their places in the National 
Assembly. He filled all the vacant committees, as well as 
the subordinate offices of revenue and of justice, with Catho- 
lics. He forbade any cure, or benefice, to be conferred upon 
any person not openly devoted to the church. He ordered, 
that no student should receive an academical degree, and that 
no scholar should be eligible to a college chair, who had not 
signed the Catholic formulary of faith. He permitted no town 
to appoint a secretary, or clerk, without his knowledge and 
approbation. He admitted no person to the rights of citizen- 
ship, whether native or foreign, who had not undergone a 
religious examination, and taken an oath of perfect and un- 
qualified submission to the priests. He shut up the churches 
of the Protestants. He took from them their estates without 
the form even of a trial. That no complaints might trouble 
him, he caused the Aulic council, another star-chamber, to 



Lutherani comburantur ! PulsKy's Hist., Introduction, p. 110. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 191 

thunder the ban of the empire against every man, who dared 
to say a word on the side of clemency. He paid no attention 
to the civil government of the country. He refused to fill 
the great secular and ecclesiastical offices, or conferred them 
on his favorites. He suffered the important post of Palatine, 
which would have stood as a defence of the people against his 
barbarous and lawless persecutions, to remain vacant. He 
filled the country with foreign troops, that, while he was pro- 
ceeding with his persecutions, the population might be awed 
into a state of quiet. At his instigation, the mercenary sol- 
diers, ready to do any thing for pay, as well as eager to satisfy 
their lusts, entered the habitations of the Protestants, usurped 
their best apartments and their tables, espelled the fathers of 
families from their own houses, and committed the worst of 
barbarities upon the persons of their wives and daughters. 
Scores of villages, belonging to Protestant cities, were seized, 
pillaged and put under military discipline. The peasants of 
the country were dragged from their ploughs to answer for 
their opinions. The whole land was left to lie without culti- 
vation. Famine, disease, death filled every neighborhood. 
In the great capitals of the provinces, Austrian generals and 
governors, like Belgioso in the city of Kassau, paraded the 
streets with executioners in their train, devoting every indi- 
vidual, male and female, to instant execution, who ventured 
to utter the slightest disapprobation of these cruelties.^" 

It is difficult to tell, by which the heart of a liberal and 
compassionate man is moved the most — the enormities prac- 
tised by these emperors — or the plaintive murmurs sent up 
by the nation thus oppressed. The thoughtful reader may 
decide this question, by pondering upon a single extract of one 
of the decrees of the Hungarian kingdom : 

" Sorely grieved and vexed at heart, the faithful magnates 
and estates feel impelled — as formerly, so now — to complain 

'" Coxe's House of Austria, vol. ii. cliap. 40, passim. 



192 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

to Grod and the King, that all their entreaties, remonstrances, 
and representations have never helped them to obtain even the 
slightest mitigation of their sufferings, horrors and miseries, 
but that the same have gone on increasing, from day to day, 
and from year to year. When we are told that the Hun- 
garians are in the habit of coming into parliament with tears 
and all kinds of wailings and woful lament, and that, when 
weary of sighs and of words, they proceed to business, we 
will not, indeed, deny, that such is the case. But who is 
there that will command the tears of the lacerated and 
wounded? Who will stop the wailings of children, when 
they submit their sufferings to their parents ? 

" Nor are the grievances of Upper Hungary, Sclavonia, and 
other parts of the kingdom, less and more bearable. In these 
provinces, the soldiery take possession of the cities, market 
towns, villages, houses, and noble curias, as if they had come 
to them in the due course of inheritance. They divide the 
same, and treat the natives of the soil, in their own homes, 
not as proprietors, but as vagrants or bondsmen. In many 
places, the foreign soldiers attack and plunder the cottages of 
the peasantry, and the seats and possessions of the noblemen. 
They, by main force, open churches and graves, rob the corpses 
and bones of the departed of their funeral dresses, and flagel- 
late, wound and kill the fathers of families. By force and 
violence, they bear away wives from their husbands, children 
from their parents, infant daughters from their mothers, chaste 
virgins from their paternal home, and abduct them to the 
haunts of infamy and vice, where — may God pity the bitter 
sufferings of the Hungarian people ! — they are sacrificed to 
beastly violence, and afterwards brought back, if ransomed 
with large sums of money ! 

" Large numbers of dwellers within these realms, scions of 
old and honored families, once happy in befitting affluence — 
now expelled from all their possessions — wander about, naked, 
hungry and forlorn, praying for bread at every door ! 



HUNGAKY AND KOSSUTH. 193 

" Such is the lamentable condition of the rest of the Hun- 
garian people — a condition which even hearts of stone must 
pity. That people was once eminent in martial honors, wealth 
and merit ; but, at this present time, we are bent with severe 
affliction, not on account of the tolerable dominion of the 
Turks and Tartars, but on account of the unrestrained mis- 
deeds of foreign soldiers \" How terrible must have been the 
despotism, which could wring from the lips of a courageous 
and manly people such pitiful lamentations ! It was by such 
means, indeed, that Catholicism was established in Hungary, 
by a succession of tyrants, as the religion of the state ! ^'■ 

The civil and religious liberties of the Hungarians being 
thus abolished, the imperious despots next addressed them- 
selves, with a still more open malice, to the destruction of the 
beautiful and expressive language of the nation. That, which 
Was a region of darkness to the rulers, was supposed to be the 
last asylum of Magyar liberty, nationality and independence. 
The institutions of the free state, they saw, might be over- 
thrown ; the rights of conscience and the resources of a free 
religion might be withdrawn ; and yet, so long as the incensed 
and insulted race could relate their sorrows and consult upon 
measures of redress, in a language unintelligible to the tyrants, 
the work of annihilation was not done. Those tyrants, there- 
fore, now determined to make a final end of that strange 
.speech, in which the spirit of democratic liberty had so long 
been nursed. Edict after edict was thundered fi-om the throne. 
With all the presumptuousness of folly and despotism united, 
the Grerman language was declared to be the language of the 
state. All the laws were to be published in it. The delibera- 

" This decree (13tli Rhodolpli, 1G02) may be compared witk 
Klftpka's History, Introduction, p. 46, and with Coxe's House of 
Austria, vol. ii. chap. 40, p. 657. For an account of Ferdinand's 
persecutions, see House of Austria, vol. ii. p. 814-815. The bar- 
barities of Leopold may be found in the House of Austria, vol. iL 
p- 1072, j>assim. 

17 



194 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tions of the National Assembly were to be bad in German. 
Grerman masters and professors were sent into all the schools 
and colleges of the land. The Hungarian was entirely ex- 
cluded. Hungarian books were discouraged or interdicted. 
Hungarian literature, in all its departments, was denounced. 
The friends of a native literature were regarded and treated 
as traitors to the crown. If, in the county assemblies, or in 
the gatherings of the villagers, a word of the contraband dia- 
lect was employed, the unhappy culprit, who, perhaps, could 
speak no other language, had to pay the severe penalty of his 
crime. The very peasants, indeed, had to converse about their 
lands and crops in an unknown speech, or be entirely dumb. 
The Magyar merchant and mechanic, sailor and soldier, not 
less than the peasants and professors, had to talk of their 
business and their books in German, or not talk at all. The 
mother, deprived of the first privilege of nature, was forbidden 
to teach her infant to lisp her own words and accents, and 
compelled to hold all her intercourse with the fruit of her own 
body in a language, which, as a general thing, she did not 
ixnderstand. No words, indeed, can exceed the intolerance, 
the severity, the madness of this crusade against the Hun- 
garian tongue. Fines and penalties, such as are usually laid 
against heinous or capital offences, were fixed for the punish- 
ment of those, who persisted in the use of a language taught 
them by their parents and once spoken by their sainted dead. 
From the beginning of the Hapsburg sway in Hungary, this 
hostility had been at work, first, in discouraging the Hun- 
garian for the Latin, and, secondly, by displacing the Hun- 
garian for the German. During the Latin era, the work of 
extermination was carried on by a thousand artful schemes 
of a concealed but consistent centralizing policy; but, at 
the opening of the German period, the Austrians had so 
gained and grown in power, that they dared to avow their 
object, and continue their efi'orts in the light of day. For 
two-thirds of a generation, from 1770 to 1790, the Geriuan 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 195 

war of anniliilation lasted. At the conclusion of the struggle, 
the work was so far accomplished, that the despots began to 
consider Hungary as a Grerman province. For the space of 
the next forty years, the language of the Magyar, in all public 
places, was almost as dead as Latin ; and it survived the im- 
perial tyranny only by clinging, in spite of the Austrian de- 
crees, to the farms and firesides of the common people. The 
magnates had ceased to use, many of them to understand, the 
noble and patriotic forms of a speech, which carried within 
itself the liberty, the independence, the nationality of the race 
that had employed it.^ 

It has been recently imagined, by some popular writers, that 
the late ordinance of the Austrian government, forbidding the 
JMagyars wearing their collars turned over after the fashion of 
the Americans, is an unprecedented piece of despotism. This 
supposition is a mistake. Similar decrees have been sent forth 
against the Magyars at many periods of their histoi-y. The 
one great object of Austria has been, let it be remembered, to 
exterminate the Magyar nationality. Not only his liberal 
constitution, his free religion, his patriotic language, but his 
national dress, has frequently been put under the imperial 
ban. More than once has it been made a crime for the 
Hungarian to be seen wearing his haljpag, or native cap. 



" Peter Bod, wlio wrote, during this German era, the Introduc- 
tion to his " History of the Church Militant," complains that he 
could not venture to write the proper names, even, of the Hun- 
garians in their own language, as they would not be recognised by 
the nation ! City of the Magyar, vol. iii. p. 54. The declension of 
the Hungarian, which almost amounted to a loss, is not only stated 
but lamented by scores of the more recent Hungarian authors. It 
is no wonder, therefore, that Hungary has produced so little of na- 
tive literature of high rank. It is a wonder, however, in her cir- 
cumstances, that she has been able, I will not only say to produce 
any literary works at all, but to preserve enough of her interdicted 
tongue to form for it the beginning of a new existence. 



196 HUNGARY AND KOSSTJTU. 

More than once, to wear that ensign of his relationship to the 
hated race subjected a citizen to as severe a punishment, as if 
he had robbed his neighbor on the public road. The loose 
frock coat, that repi'esentative of the original elegance and 
freedom of the still looser oriental robes, was forcibly dis- 
placed for a German suit, which, to the eye of the patriot, 
seemed as ignominious, as for an honorable man, in any other 
country, to be clad in a bandit's garb or a prisoner's attire. 
It was the dress of his worst enemy. To wear it, at least 
willingly, was to cease to be a Magyar, and to become a Ger- 
man. The light sash, or belt, the mark of the universal 
knightly independence of the nation, was strictly interdicted. 
Austria, despotic in the smallest particulars, as well as in those 
of the greatest moment, must not only make the laws, control 
the pulpits, bind the language, but cut the garments of her 
Hungarian subjects. The noble-hearted and keenly-sensitive 
Hungarian must submit to this intolerable oppression. He 
must consent to be stripped of every thing that made him a 
Hungarian. Bereft of his civil liberties, of his rights of con- 
science, and of his native speech, he must^ next clothe him- 
self in the apparel of his oppressor, and move about among 
his conquerors as a walking monument of their victory, an 
object of their laughter. When the Jews had inflicted every 
other indignity upon the rights and person of our Savior, they 
stripped him of his own raiment, and compelled him to walk 
about, in the judgment hall, in the habiliments of his royal 
persecutor. The cutting keenness of this malice has, perhaps, 
never been repeated upon any individual, though a real male- 
factor, by the most brutal of subsequent oppressors. Austria, 
however, has not only revived it, but multiplied the individual 
to a nation, whose only crime has been, that it did not wish 
to sink into absolute and eternal annihilation. 

When every thing, in which the Magyar nationality could 
find a resting-place, had been subjected or overturned, to keep 
the race in perpetual bondage, the foreign despots perfected 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 197 

their system of subjugation by surrounding them with the 
links of a military chain. A standing army of foreigners, 
divided into convenient parts, and commanded by German 
officers, was ranged all along the western and northern fron- 
tiers, under the pretence of guarding the passes of the Car- 
pathians against the Russians and the Poles. The southern 
and eastern border was defended, professedly against the 
Turks, by the Military District, a strip of country nearly a 
thousand miles in length, whose inhabitants were all soldiers, 
who, though citizens of Hungary, were made amenable to the 
Austrian government. The interior of the land was occupied, 
at various points, by strong garrisons, which were ostensibly 
created as recruiting stations, but which, in fact, were only the 
folding end of the chain, that wound its involutions around 
the nation's heart. The other end, of course, was securely 
fastened to the throne. Thus, hand and foot, body and spirit, 
the race of Magyars, after being robbed of every thing that 
made them Magyars, or guaranteed their existence as a nation, 
were bound down to a hopeless and everlasting bondage. So 
far as they were concerned, the anagram of Frederic was real- 
ized; and, by their subjugation, Austria had taken its position 
as the arbiter, if not the imperator, of the European world. 

It cannot, indeed, be doubted, even by the warmest apolo- 
gists of Austria, that, from the very beginning of her history, 
it has been the single aim of her despotic rulers to extend 
their despotism over all the states acknowledging any connec- 
tion to their imperial sway. The states were, therefore, by 
every means, to be reduced to the condition of imperial pro- 
vinces. Their independence, of course, had first to be de- 
stroyed. Their national institutions, and particularly their 
municipal rights and regulations, had to be overturned. Their 
religion, if difi'erent from the religion of the tyrants, had to 
be extirpated. Their language, dress, manners and customs, 
before there could be a complete amalgamation of the conquer- 
ors and the conquered, had to be annihilated. All these things 

17* 



198 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

were necessary to the accomiDlislimerit of the one great end in 
view. Such, it is certain, haA^e been the purposes of the 
House of Austria in all her subject principalities and king- 
doms. In Bohemia, in Gallicia, as well as in the territories 
of the oi-iginal arch-duchy, the work was not very difficult. 
In Italy, there was no limit to the design but a change of 
language, which, by reason of its impossibility, has not been 
attempted. Everywhere, in fact, outside of Hungary, the 
work of absolutism, of centralization, has been effected without 
any signal opposition. The people, in all those countries, had 
been well prepared for despotism. Italy, for two thousand 
years, had known nothing but despotism. Bohemia had al- 
ways been in bondage to some imperious monarch. Gallicia, 
though animated with the thoughts of liberty, while holding 
a connection with the republic of the Poles, had ever been too 
weak, or rather too plastic, to offer any serious resistance. In 
Hungary, however, the question of liberty, or slavery, was a 
very different question. The kingdom had never been other- 
wise than free and independent. The nation had always been 
the champion of popular institutions. The people had en- 
joyed, from their origin, the blessings of personal and social 
liberty. Their constitution, laws and civilization were all 
entirely liberal, if not democratic. The spirit of democracy 
was their life-spirit. To take away this democracy was to 
take away their breath, their vitality, their very being. Still, 
just as far as the work of annihilating Hungary was difficult, 
just so far it was positively essential to the great object. 
Austria could not be a safe or a perfect despot, so long as her 
largest und most powerful dependancy, larger and more power^ 
ful than all the rest of her possessions, should remain free, 
liberal and democratic. The time might come, unless this 
nation of liberty-loving Magyars should be transformed to a 
province of abject Austrians, when, in spite of all the mighty 
despotisms about it, this Hungary might not only reassert her 
own independence, but proclaim liberty to her sister captives. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 199 

The time might come, when, fired by her ancestral spirit, and 
emulating the bravery of her first inhabitants, she might raise 
her keen sabre against the heart of this all-encompassing 
tyranny, and strike the fetters from the hands and feet of cen- 
tral and southern Europe. The time might come, after all 
their sufferings and reverses, when these unconquered Mag- 
yars, rising in their pristine majesty, might resolve to make 
their country the centre of a new system of nations, whose 
government, like their own, should be democratic, whose reli- 
gion should be anti-papal, whose civilization should be liberal 
and expansive, and whose very beginning should be the end 
of European slavery. 

The possibility of such a period has pressed, for three hun- 
dred years, upon the forebodings of the imperial despots, and 
contributed to make them, what their whole history has proved 
them to be, the most determined, the most unscrupulous, the 
most unfeeling and relentless enemies of civil liberty, that 
Eurepe has ever seen. Their entire policy has been, so far 
as they have had to do with Hungary, to overthrow the na- 
tionality and break the spirit of the Magyars, who, in that 
quarter of the globe, have been almost the only consistent 
and unflinching friends of human freedom, and the absoliitely 
indomitable foes of despotism, on the battle-fields of humanity 
for more than eleven centuries of time. 



200 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTER Vm. 

THE MAGYARS DEFEND THEIR NATIONALITY. 

It has been recently reported in the papers of Vienna, that, 
in the spring of 1850, Haynau, the Austrian butcher, had an 
interview with the children of the immortal Kossuth. He 
addressed the younger of them in the Grerman. The reply 
was in Hungarian. On seeing that the commander-in-chief 
did not understand him, the boy spoke French, remarking that 
every general must certainly understand that tongue. Neither 
of the children could be induced to speak the first word in the 
language of their father's enemies.^ 

It must not be supposed, indeed, that, at the present mo- 
ment, or in former ages, in the midst of the terrible oppres- 
sions of their imperial rulers, the IMagyars have bowed their 
necks with a Sclavic stupidity to the despots. Far from it. 
They have always offered resistance to these oppressions. It 
has been only after the most strenuous opposition, in every 
instance, that they have finally yielded to the necessities of 
their position. 

They, therefore, who have charged the present generation 
of Hungarians with a morbid sensitiveness ; with a mutinous 
disposition, unprecedented in the conduct of their brave and 
patriotic fathers ; with having raised up a revolution out of 
trifles, to which no attention has been paid in former ages, 
have not studied very carefully, if they have searched at all, 
the annals of this manly and spirited race of people. The 
history of Hungary, since its connection with the Germans, 

' The incident was reported by the Pesth correspondent of Lloyd, 
and afterwards published in the Vienna Times. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 201 



is the history of a constant succession of revolutions. The 
Magyars have never been contented ; and, unless they had 
been cursed with a servile temper, contentment could never 
have been so much as possible. 

The earliest of the Hungarian insurrections, against the 
despotism of Austria, was raised by the religious persecutions 
mentioned in a previous chapter. At the very outbreak of the 
Lutheran Reformation, the emperor Charles the Fifth called 
together the imperial Diet, at the city of Worms, " to concert 
with the princes of the empire effectual measures for checking 
the progress of those new and dangerous opinions, which 
threatened to disturb the peace of Germany, and to overturn 
the religion of their ancestors ;" and, while the Diet was in 
session, he drew up and signed that memorable declaration, 
which, for thirty years, overwhelmed all Europe with a deluge 
of blood : " Descended as I am," said the bigot, " from the 
Christian emperors of Germany, the Catholic kings of Spain, 
and from the archdukes of Austria and the dukes of Bur- 
gundy, all of whom have preserved, to the last moment of 
their lives, their fidelity to the Church, and have always been 
the defenders and protectors of the Catholic faith, its decrees, 
its ceremonies, its usages, I have been, am still, and will ever 
be devoted to those Christian doctrines, and the constitution 
of the Church, which they have left to me as a sacred inherit- 
ance. And as it is evident, that a simple monk has advanced 
opinions contrary to the sentiments of all Christians, past and 
present, I am firmly determined to wipe away the reproach, 
which a toleration of such errors would cast on Germany, and 
to employ all my power and resources, my body, my blood, 
my life, and even my soul, in checking the progress of this 
sacrilegious doctrine I" It scarcely need be added, that when, 
in the estimation of a powerful, proud and superstitious mo- 
narch, toleration is regarded as a reproacli, which must be 
wiped ofi" by all the energies of his mind and might, there is 
little to be hoped for the object of such a threat; and when 



202 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

it is considered, that tlie power and resources of the rampant 
emperor were spread from the shores of the Atlantic to the 
borders of Russia, from the northern limits of modern Ger- 
many to the southern borders of ancient Cicily, and into the 
New World then recently discovered, it will be seen what 
causes the yet unenslaved and unbending nation of the Mag- 
^yars were to have for opposition.'^ 

Charles the Fifth, however, was too busy with his German 
persecutions to leave him time for any particular attention to 
the Hungarian nation; and his brother Ferdinand, who 
claimed to be king of Hungary from 1527 to 1564, was not 
able, for nearly thirty years, so far to settle his authority in 
the kingdom, as to give it any special trouble. In 1556, 
Ferdinand was elected emperor ; and though, after that event, 
he was a much more powerful monarch than before it, the 
Magyars maintained their opposition to him with their accus- 
tomed spirit. From 1527 to 1540, John Zapolyi, and from 
1540 to 1571, John Sigismund, led the Magyar forces against 
Ferdinand and his successor, Maximilian; but this latter 
emperor was so wise, so kind, so just a ruler, that, in spite of 
the illegality of his pretensions, he gradually acquired a high 
degree of popularity with those over whom he sought to set 
up his sway. Sigismund, however, still heading a very for- 
midable resistance, kept the philosophic and generous usurper 
from getting possession of the country ; and, when all other 
means had failed, he followed the example of his opponents, 
and put himself under the protection of the Turks. On the 
death of Sigismund, in 1571, the war of succession, which 
had raged for nearly half a century, ceased ; and the west of 
Hungary, which had found its opposition useless, temporarily 
submitted to its fate. Thus terminated the first general resist- 
ance to the extension of the tyranny of the Hapsburgs into 
Hungary, 

* Coxe's House of Austria, vol, i. pp. 410-418. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH, 203 

Transylvania, however, which was farther from the scene 
of action, though prudently acknowledging the supremacy of 
Austria, soon rose again in arms. In this act of resistance, 
it was undoubtedly encouraged by the Turks, who, having 
been invited into Hungary by both parties, and having thus 
taken possession of the entire course of the Danube, including 
nearly all the national garrisons and forts, wished now to con- 
quer and hold the whole kingdom for themselves. This they 
could not, in their own name, do, without rousing the dormant 
hostility of the European world. Looking through the coun- 
try for a fit instrument of their ambition, they found another 
Sigismund, son of Christopher Bathori, whom they elevated 
to the princely rank, and under whose banner and auspices 
they professed to fight. This scheme, ingenious as it was, 
would have had no great success, had not the iron-handed op- 
pressions of Rhodolph the First, then claiming the crown of 
Stephen, startled every Magyar from his confiding sleep. 
Those oppressions, to which the reader's attention has before 
been called, brought the entire nation to its feet. Forgetting, 
in the moment of their just indignation, that their cavise could 
receive from a Turkish alliance no honor, nor any lasting good, 
they accepted of the profiiered services of the Turks, and 
rushed to the field of battle to defend their rights. Khodolph 
met them with an overwhelming force. Sigismund was de- 
feated. He was compelled to lay down his power, to cede his 
territories to the emperor, and to go into exile on a small pen- 
sion allowed him by his foe. 

At this event the sultan was violently enraged. Raising 
an immense army, he marched into the bosom of the ceded 
territory, and vigorously attacked the German troops, who, in 
Ehodolph's name, had taken possession of the grant. The 
Mahometan was everywhere victorious. Sigismund was 
speedily recalled. For a considerable time, success crowned 
all his eS"orts ; but subsequently, in a bloody battle with the 
Austrian army of occupation, he lost so many of his men, 



204 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

that he was forced to retire the second time. Rhodolph, 
hoping to buy him off, settled on him certain lordships, which, 
had the Hungarian not been fighting for his country rather 
than for himself, would have been sufficient to satisfy him for 
his troubles and his loss. General Basta, the emperor's com- 
mander, took martial possession of the country, and reared 
over the heads of the people a military despotism more onerous, 
more sanguinary, more brutal than the country had ever 
known before. 

The rest of Hungary, at the same time, stretching from the 
banks of the Theiss to the western borders of the kingdom, 
was still more seriously afflicted with the direct, open, galling 
tyranny of the Hapsburg monarch. He paid no attention 
whatever to the welfare, internal or external, of the nation. 
He appointed no magistrates, nominated no pastors, published 
no laws, nor manifested the least concern for the civil, social, 
or religious prosperity of the country. The entire manage- 
ment of affairs was left to his military chieftains, who ruled 
the citizens by the sword, and gratified without restraint every 
lust of barbarism and brutality on the lives, properties and 
persons of both sexes. "When petitions were sent up to the 
emperor, such as the one recorded in another place, he is said 
to have received them with a hearty laugh. They were proof, 
as he thought, that the nation was about subdued; and it 
made him merry to look over its pitiful concessions of his 
success. Historians have also remarked, that, after the recep- 
tion of these melancholy appeals to his generosity, he was 
always more cruel, more thoroughly despotic, than before; 
for, from each new evidence of the probable accomplishment 
of his purpose, he acquired a renewal of inspiration for the 
prosecution of his work. It is well known, too, that, instead 
of restraining the lawlessness of his soldiers, he personally 
and perpetually encouraged them in their infamous and reck- 
less life. Hundreds of estates, belonging to Hungarians, 
were claimed and confiscated by the fiscal of the state. Count 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 205 

Illeshazy, the first of the Magyar magnates, both in honors 
and in wealth, and a consistent Protestant, had performed 
great services for his country, not only as a citizen at home, 
but as a general abroad. ' For being a Protestant, however, 
and because he ventured to express compassion for his coun- 
trymen in these dark and bloody times, he was deprived of his 
honors, stripped of his property, and sent to be an irreclaim- 
able exile from the land he had dared to love. Endurance 
was no longer a virtue. The Magyars rose up in strength. 
Choosing Stephen Botskay, the first nobleman of Upper Hun- 
gary, as their leader, they raised their banners for their country 
and their faith. 

The Trausylvanian Magyars, in the mean time, after the 
defeat and departure of their prince, Sigismund, were in- 
dustriously searching for another chieftain. Under the ter- 
rible administration of Basta, they had been driven to despair; 
and, unless they could lay their hands upon a man of the first 
order of abilities, they saw nothing before them but still greater 
enormities of a licentious, greedy, beastly military power. 
Fortune at last favored them. There were, at that time, large 
numbers of Hungarians in Turkey, who, after having struggled 
nobly against the extension of Austrian despotism over Hun- 
gary, had fled for personal safety before the devouring forces 
of the Germans. It was not cowardice that impelled them to 
this flight ; but, not having succeeded in their opposition, they 
wished to prolong their lives in a neighboring land, from which 
they might watch the vicissitudes of liberty and slavery at 
home, and, upon a favorable opportunity, return to resume 
the contest against their imperial foes. That opportunity now 
seemed to have arrived ; and among them there was a hero, 
whose valor, whose abilities, whose patriotism, had been se- 
verely tried. That hero was the far-famed Moses Tzekeli, 
who, at the head of his choice band of exiles, entered Transyl- 
vania in spite of all opposition. His countrymen, glorying in 
their great chief, flocked to his standard from all parts. Others 

18 



206 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

of them, seeing the necessity of dispatch, rushed to the strong- 
holds of the country, took possession of the fortresses, and 
expelled the Austrian garrisons from their posts. Battle after 
battle was fought. The Magyars were almost uniformly vic- 
torious. Thousands of the enemy were slain ; thousands were 
taken prisoners ; and the rest were struck with a panic, from 
which they recovered only by their usual intrigue. Distressed 
on every sidC) in their extremity they begged the help of cer- 
tain hordes of Turkey, and, as has ever been the custom of 
Austria when fairly beaten, owed their restoration to the as- 
sistance of foreign mercenaries. The bandit Turks, who, in 
this interference, contradicted the well-known policy of their 
government, could, nevertheless, give the best of bandit rea- 
sons for their conduct. In addition to the yellow florins of 
their employers, they were promised the " booty and beauty 
of the country. Lust and avarice succeeded. Tzekeli, whose 
bravery would not permit him to fly again from peril, was 
slain in the hottest of a battle. His followers, regarding him 
as their only hope, dispersed to the fastnesses of the neighbor- 
ing mountains. Basta, the lawless despot of the still more 
lawless and despotic emperor, again spread his forces over the 
province, again set up his insufferable military sway, again 
undertook his task of keeping the people in subjection to the 
house of Austria, by every act that can degrade the character 
of a tyrant.^ 

The patriots were more successful in the western portion of 
the kingdom. Botskay, whose age, and rank, and purity of 
life, and nobleness of character, secured him the veneration 
of his countrymen, went to the capital of Bohemia in person, 
that he might there hold a conference with the royal perse- 
cutor, and dissuade him, if possible, from farther acts of cruelty 
and oppression. Proceeding to the palace of the monarch, he 
sent in his name and the object of his visit, but was not at 

' Coxe's House of Austria, vol. ii. p. 90. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 207 

once admitted, as his position demanded, into tlie royal pre- 
sence. Sitting hour after hour in the antechamber of the 
king's residence, where he was abused by the lowest menials 
of the emperor, he at length became indignant at the insult. 
Without farther efforts to get an audience, he left the house, 
proceeded to his own stopping-place, and immediately returned 
to his afflicted and now insulted country. When he reached 
home, he found his friends and neighbors in great excitement, 
not so much, at that moment, over their own misfortunes, as 
his losses. In his absence, and probably while sitting as a 
neglected suppliant in the palace, messengers of the imperial 
government had been sent to his place of residence, where 
they had made public proclamation, only a few hours before 
his own arrival, that his possessions were open to the plunder 
of his enemies. He found his houses and lands robbed, his 
family and friends insulted, and all those nameless atrocities 
committed upon his estates, which, however frequently they 
may be discovered in the annals of these tyrants, will not bear 
to be written out in this country, even for the information of 
the public* 

The measures of the great Botskay were taken with becom- 
ing spirit. He at once published a manifesto to the Hungarian 
nation, in which he stated not only this recent outrage, but a 
summary of the grievances of the country. He told the 
Blagyars, what was very true, that the claim of Austria to the 
crown of Hungary was unfounded; that the emperors had 
been nothing better than fortunate usurpers ; that their object 
was to overthrow the constitutional government of the people 
and to set up an irresponsible tyranny in the place of it ; that, 
if they now succeeded in breaking the spirit of the nation, 
there might never be a time when it would have courage to 
raise up an opposition to the oppressors ; that that was its 
chosen opportunity, if it wished to declare and maintain its 

* Coxe's House of Austria, vol. ii. pp. 91-92. 



208 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

in dependence, while Transylvania was unsatisfied and un- 
settled, and while tlie Turks, the natural opponents of the 
Germans, held the course of the Danube and its tributary 
waters. The appeal went home to the hearts of the suffering 
Hungarians. The voice of patriotism roused them as by 
magic. Seizing such weapons as they had, some with swords 
and other martial implements, many with forks, and scythes, 
and pruning-hooks, they crowded to the head-quarters of their 
liberator, which rang with the watch-words of liberty and 
independence. The whole kingdom was filled with similar 
enthusiasm. The royal army itself, which was posted in con- 
venient stations throughout the country, could not resist the 
contagious spirit of the populace. Thousands of them de- 
serted from the imperial standards, and joined the ranks of the 
uprising people. 

At this signal, the patriots of Transylvania again mustered. 
Putting themselves under the command of Gabriel Bethlen, 
whose name has been before mentioned, and whose courage 
and military skill were equal to his position, they marched 
out of their own territory into Upper Hungary, and united 
their forces to those of Botskay. The beautiful valleys of 
their fair country were thus deserted to the unrestrained 
rapacity of Basta. His work of devastation, however, was 
about completed. He had little more, if any thing more, to 
do. "All traces of human industry," says the historian, 
speaking of Transylvania at this period, " were swept away 
from its once fertile plains and fruitful hills; towns and 
villages offered nothing but the spectacle of ruin and deso- 
lation; corn was bought at the price of gold; horses, and 
even domestic animals [such as cats and dogs] were used 
for food; and, at length, the people were driven to the 
tombs to seek a wretched sustenance from the putrid bodies 
of their fellow-creatures. The most dreadful disorders were 
produced by these execrable aliments ; and pestilence swept 
away many of those, who had escaped from famine and the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 209 

sword !"^ Leaving such a land behind him, Basta hurried 
after the fugitives, intending to join his troops to those of 
Belgioso, who had the command of the king's army in the 
north and west of Hungary. 

The imperialists and patriots soon met. The Austrians 
were routed and driven completely from the country. Botskay 
was proclaimed king of Hungary and woiwode of Transyl- 
vania. The entire nation supported the proclamation; and 
the new monarch was readily acknowledged by the Turks. 
The famous sultan, Achmet, sent him a club, a sabre, and a 
standard, in honor of his victory, of his bravery, and of his 
office. The hero, however, refused the crown, wishing only, 
as he said, to give freedom to his countrymen, and then to 
enjoy that freedom as a private citizen. His popularity was 
unbounded. All Hungary stood ready to obey his wishes ; 
and the Protestants of the whole German empire, particularly 
of Bohemia and Austria, would gladly have marched behind 
him to the walls of the imperial capital. Such was the end 
of the second war of opposition to the unjust claim of the 
Austrians over Hungary. 

On the death of Botskay, Sigismond Rakoczy was elevated 
to the principality of Transylvania ; but Hungary, excepting 
a small portion east of the river Theiss, had been recovered 
by the emperor. The crown of Hungary was soon after laid 
on the head of Ferdinand the Second, son of Matthias, who 
had succeeded to the empire on the demise of the hated Rho- 
dolph. Ferdinand was a cruel prince. Under his auspices 
commenced one of the bloodiest persecutions, which Protestant- 
ism ever suffered from the Catholics. Count Thurn in Bo- 
hemia, and Gabriel Bethlen in Transylvania, raised the 
standard of resistance. The Magyars of Hungary were not 
to be outdone in patriotic service to their country. With 
characteristic ardor, they thronged to the field of battle, 



' Coxe's House of Austria, vol. ii. chap. 42, p. 687. 
18* 



210 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

resolved to defend their religion, as well as their homes and 
firesides, from destruction. Ferdinand repeated, and even 
outstripped, the horrors perpetrated by his predecessors. De- 
termined to force Catholicism and absolute monarchy upon his 
Protestant Hungarian subjects, and totally unscrupulous how 
he effected his purpose upon such a race of heretics, he sent 
marauding parties to scour and devastate the rural districts, 
confiscated the estates of the wealthy gentlemen and nobles, 
impressed the peaceable citizens to fill up his immense military 
levies, assassinated, massacred, robbed and pillaged the in- 
dustrious population, violated the wives and daughters of every 
Protestant household, and spread the gloom of desolation and 
despair over the most beautiful of all countries. Such pro- 
ceedings naturally excited, to the highest pitch, the allied 
forces under Thurn and Bethlen. The former, coming down 
with the impetuosity of an eagle upon Vienna, carried every 
thing before him ; and the latter, bursting from the confines 
of Transylvania into Hungary, captured all the great fortresses, 
scattered the emperor's forces under the command of Homonai, 
took Pressburg by assault, swept onward into Austria, and, 
joining his troops to those of Thm*n, waged battle with the 
imperial commander-in-chief, Buckoy, and drove him from the 
walls and intrenchments of the city. 

Count Thurn returned in peace to his native land; and 
Bethlen, as soon as he had crossed the frontiers, was pro- 
claimed king by his victorious soldiers. The people, not only 
of Transylvania, but of all Hungary, ratified the choice of the 
army, and crowned the successful defender and deliverer of 
their country. 

Ferdinand, fearing a second irruption of the patriots into 
his p trimonial territory, made the most vigorous exertions to 
reco^ er by bargaining, by intrigue, by artful diplomacy, what 
he had lost in battle. Sending a beggarly petition to the 
king of Spain, he assured his Catholic majesty that he had 
been fighting only for the honor and extension of the Church, 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 211 

and concluded his appeal by asking a ricli subsidy of gold and 
a loan of troops. The money and the men were granted ; but 
Bethlen had intrenched himself so completely in the affections 
of his subjects, that Ferdinand was compelled, at last, to ac- 
knowledge the new sovereign and conclude with him a truce 
for twenty years. Nine years afterwards, in 1629, a second 
truce was signed; and when Bethlen died, he carried with 
him to his grave the satisfaction of having saved his country 
from the double curse of political despotism and religious 
persecution. With him closed the third war of Hungarian 
independence. 

George Rakoczy succeeded, in Transylvania at least, to the 
throne left vacant by the death of Bethlen ; and in Hungary 
his claims to the succession were generally acknowledged by 
the magnates. During the progress of the thirty years' war 
in Germany, from 1618 to 1618, Hungary, including Transyl- 
vania, was generally able to maintain its independence ; but 
the peace of Westphalia, which gave to the emperors of Austria 
the opportunity of recovering their old possessions, renewed 
the troubles and sufferings of this interesting country. In 
1660, George Rakoczy the Second was raised to the woiwode- 
ship of Transylvania. Soon afterwards he died ; and he was 
followed by Kemeny, Barczay and Abaffy, who successively 
maintained their country's cause against imperial ambition and 
military rule. The Jesuits of Austria, the worst of all Jesuits, 
soon began to plot against the Magyar Protestants, and par- 
ticularly against the great Wesselenyi, at that time Palatine 
of Hungary. They were " the favorites and the counselors 
of the emperor; they had wealth, station and power; ^but all 
this availed them nothing, so long as they saw Mordecai, the 
Jew, sitting at the king's gate.' On every opportunity^ there- 
fore, they influenced the minister to persecute the Protectants 
in Hungary, and unfortunately with too much success."" 

"■ The reader will find a good summary of these cruelties in the 



212 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The barbarities of other years were repeated. Scaffolds 
and executioners were again common. Murder, assassination, 
rape, extortion, and every conceivable crime, spread dismay 
throughout the country. The patience of the people was at 
last exhausted. Resistance became necessary, not only to 
preserve the last shadow of independence, but to maintain the 
peace and purity of social life. The noble Palatine, whose 
oath of office bound him to interpose between the oppressor 
and the oppressed, raised the standard of opposition, and his 
countrymen flocked to him from every quarter. But "Wesse- 
lenyi suddenly died ; and the patriots, by the neglect of the 
emperor to appoint a successor, were compelled to choose by 
suffrage another leader. The choice fell on the unfortunate 
Francis Rakoczy, son of the second Greorge Rakoczy, and a 
man of splendid abilities and great influence. The new com- 
mander was not successful. The emperor, freed from all his 
foreign troubles, had nothing to do but carry out the cherished 
design of his house, of crushing the liberties and exterminat- 
ing the religion of the Magyars. Eakoczy was forced to ac- 
knowledge himself a rebel, in the bad sense of the word, and 
to sue for pardon. The Magyar spirit, however, the indomi- 
table spirit of an indomitable race of men, was not humbled. 
It only waited for its opportunity and a new general. In the 
mean time, the Jesuits urged their policy, and with unlimited 
success, upon the imperial cabinet. "It was officially an- 
nounced that the Protestant teachers had fomented the late 
rebellion; courts were instituted to crush the obnoxious 
heresy; everywhere Protestant schools and churches were 
dispersed and pulled down ; and a body of two hundred and 
fifty ministers of that persuasion were sold, at fifty crowns 
each, to the galleys of Naples."'' 

Encyclopedia Metropolitana ; but, if he wishes to examine the 
horrible picture more minutely, he must consult Coxe, Pfister, and 
Jlenzel, but particularly the Histoire des Revolutions de Hongrie. 
' The sale of two hundred and fifty clergymen, into perpetual 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 213 

The blood of the Magyars was again boiling. The whole 
nation arose against its destroyers. It found a worthy chief- 
tain in -the person of Emeric Tbkblyi, who, from his early, 
constant, and unsparing hatred toward the house of Austria, 
has been fitly compared with Hannibal. If not on his father's, 
yet on his country's sword, he had long before sworn eternal 
hostility to the Austrians. He was a brave man, a good diplo- 
matist, a skilful manager, and a most impetuous warrior. 
Repairing to Transylvania, and gaining the favor of Abaffy, 
whom he had served for several years as a common soldier, he 
returned to the southern side of the Danube at the age of 
twenty, to take command of the Magyar army of insurrection. 
All classes of his countrymen supported him in his measures. 
Nobles and peasants, men and women, vied with each other in 
giving him assistance. Victory everywhere perched upon his 
standard. After expelling the Austrians from every part of 
Hungary, and garrisoning all the fortresses of Transylvania, 
he pushed his way through Austria to the very gates of the 
great capital. 

Leopold the First, then emperor, had, on the 21st of March, 
1671, claimed his right of sovereignty over Hungary, not by 
inheritance, not by the free suflfrage of the Diet, not by the 



slavery, the worst slavery, too, of the middle ages, -would hardly be 
credited, had we not received it on the authority of Coxe (vol. ii. 
chap. 66, p. 1073) and other credible historians. We are told by 
Sacy, (torn. ii. p. 315,) that these enslaved clergymen were after- 
wards rescued from bondage by the humanity of the renowned De 
Euyter, admiral of the Dutch fleet then stationed in the Mediter- 
ranean. After obtaining for them their freedom, by his powerful 
mediation with the Neapolitan viceroy, Los Velos, "he took them 
on board his fleet, and treated them with the greatest compassion 
and beneficence — an act which honors his name no less," continues 
the historian, Sacy, "than his most splendid exploits." Who shall 
measure the dishonor, the cruelty, the cowardice of the government 
that enslaved them ! 



214 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

consent of his Hungcarian subjects, but by tliat divine autho- 
rity under which kings have so long and so blasphemously 
asserted the privilege of being tyrants. Never, however, in 
the history of all despotisms, had any monarch, autocrat or 
emperor, from the times of the thirty tyrants to those of Nero, 
so openly and daringly, so needlessly and tauntingly, made 
public proclamation of their intended tyranny : " Having, by 
our victorious arms," says Leopold, " suppressed a wicked re- 
bellion, in which the principal members of the crown were 
implicated, and had seduced the other orders, attacked and 
killed our soldiers, assumed a part of our prerogatives in rais- 
ing troops, levying contributions, calling assemblies and seiz- 
ing our treasures, and even engaged in a conspiracy against 
our life, which was frustrated by the providence of Grod — And 
whereas it is a duty incumbent on us to provide for the safety 
of the people, who are committed to our charge, and to pre- 
vent Hungary and Christendom from being again exposed to 
similar disorders — We, hy our absolute author iti/, have ordered 
regulations for the quartering of our troops; and we enjoin 
all persons to submit, without excuse or delay, to that power 
which we have received from ahove, and are determined to 
maintain Sy /orce o/ arms. We require our subjects to give 
this proof of submission, lest, contrary to our natural clemency, 
we should be forced to execute our tvrath against those, who 
abuse our i7idid(/ence!"^ 

This military despotism, audaciously set up in the name of 
God, to be established and perpetuated by the sword, was in a 
few months leveled to the dust by the arms and energy of 
Tbkolyi, and humbly revoked by the emperor himself. A diet 
being called at Oedenburg, Leopold abrogated his new style 
of government, published a general amnesty in favor of the 
patriots, granted liberty of conscience to the abused Protest- 



' This terrible document, so characteristic of the Hapsburgs, may 
be seen in Coxe's House of Austria, vol. ii. chap. 66, pp. 439-440. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 215 



ants, and agreed to restore the bereaved magnates of Hungary 
to all their estates and rights, which had been taken from 
them. He also annulled his illegal imposts, re-established 
the national frontier militia, promised ever after to govern the 
land by the letter and spirit of his oath of coronation, and 
by the ancient constitution of the kingdom. All, in a word, 
was gained, so far as any concession can be called a gain, which 
comes from lips of proverbial treachery and dissimulation. 

No sooner, in fact, had the vanquished emperor obtained 
from Tbkblyi a truce of six months, than he sent a secret 
envoy to the court of Constantinople to get succors from the 
Turks. The Turks, however, rejected the proposals of the 
messenger, but resolved to aid the Magyars. Leopold next 
sent a most cowardly petition to the states of the German 
empire, calling piteously for help ; and, distrusting both his 
own abilities, and the abilities of his constitutional supporters, 
he dispatched another ambassador, on the same errand, to the 
court of Poland, and then fled like a common coward from 
his own. Tokolyi, supported by an immense army of his 
fellow-citizens and confederates, and fully advised of the artful 
but rather unsuccessful intrigues of Leopold, rushed upon the 
Hungarian places occupied by the Austrians; captured Szath- 
mar, Kassau, Neutra, and many other fortified positions ; and 
compelled the government at Vienna to recall the imperial 
troops from nearly every part of his hitherto insulted and op- 
pressed, but now victorious, country. 

The usual recourse of Austria, however, soon after prevailed 
against all this bravery. Sobieski, king of Poland, the greatest 
general of his age, seduced by the falsehoods of Leopold, 
came to Hungary and partly reconquered it.^ What could 

' " My troops," said the emperor, in a letter written by his own 
hand to Sobieski — " my troops are now assembling ; the bridge over 
the Danube is already constructed at Tulsc to afford you a passage" — 
when every word was as false as a falsehood can be. House of 
Austria, vol. ii. p. 1077. 



216 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

not be accomplished, by open and manly warfare, was effected 
by tbe ordinary methods of bribery and deception. The Turks 
were hired to arrest Tokblyi in his career of conquest. He 
was, consequently, captured by his former friends and sent in 
chains to Constantinople. There he lived in obscurity and 
died in want. The peace of Karlowicz was the termination 
of this contest; and, from the year 1699, the period of its 
date, it has barred the Turks from meddling in the domestic 
affairs of Austria, and secured the kingdom of the Huns to 
the house of Hapsburg as an inalienable and hereditary pos- 
session. Despotism again raised its banner, at the close of 
this fourth and fatal struggle, and waved it in triumph over 
the lands and liberties of the Magyars. 

The last memorable resistance of the Hungarian nation to 
the illegal claims and intolerable oppressions of the house of 
Austria is worthy of special record. It was organized in 1703, 
and headed by the celebrated Francis Leopold Rakoczy. The 
object of it was to oppose the claim of Leopold the First as a 
hereditary sovereign. The doctrine of hereditary succession 
was new and strange to the democratic nation. The resent- 
ment of the people was still farther roused by the despotic 
measures taken by the emperor to impose this doctrine upon 
the kingdom ; and when, added to these, he commenced that 
fierce and furious religious persecution, before mentioned, the 
patience of the Magyars was exhausted. They rose as one 
man against the tyrant. 

Their leader, Rakoczy, was a character of historical repute, 
before he had made himself, by the splendor of his deeds, im- 
mortal. He belonged to that well-known family of which 
patriotism seemed to be the natural characteristic. Left an 
orphan by the death of his noble father, and separated from 
his mother on the surrender of his native . city, lest he should 
imbibe too much of the spirit of liberty from her instructions, 
he had been educated under the eye of Austrian tutors, who 
had done their utmost to bend his mind from the affairs of 



HtrkOARY AND KOSSUTH. 217 

nations and fix it on the disputations of religion. This artful 
management had not succeeded. It seemed to be a part of his 
nature, of his very constitution, to take an interest in political 
and patriotic questions. While the Jesuits, his teachers, were 
industriously giving him their lessons in polemical divinity, 
he was thinking of the wrongs of his country and the deeds 
of his departed forefathers. After the tasks of the day were 
done, he might be seen, when the shades of evening were 
gathering around, sitting pensively by his window, with his 
eyes towards Hungary, looking with a silent, meditative, 
mournful aspect on the blue line of Hungarian hills, which, 
in cleai' weather, are distinctly visible from Vienna. When 
he saw those hills refulgent with the soft rays of the setting 
sun, and thought of the contrast between the placid beauty 
of those beams and the awful wretchedness to which despotism 
had reduced the country thus gorgeously and almost tauntingly 
illuminated, he would think, and look, and then start to his 
feet with a sudden spring, as if struck by some powerful and 
irresistible purpose. On seeing his attendants, however, who 
never left him entirely alone, he would as suddenly compose 
himself, and resume his quiet posture. Such conduct, never- 
theless, could not be overlooked or mistaken. During the 
rebellion, as it is called, of the great Tokolyi, he was thought 
to be an unsafe person to live within half a day's journey of 
the insurgent country. Should he escape to Hungary, as he 
might possibly do, his name alone, boy as he then was, would 
avail as much against the Austrians as an army. He was 
consequently removed into Bohemia and placed under the 
strictest surveillance of his old tutors. At a suitable age, in 
spite of the vigilance of his keepers, he fell in love with 
Charlotte Amelia, princess of Hesse Ehcinfeld, a lady of for- 
tune, accomplishments and beauty. The history of their 
intercourse is itself a romance. Their stolon interviews, 
•effected by methods of almost unparalleled ingenuity, at 
length prevailed against the intentions of his master and the 

19 



218 HUNGARY AND KOSSOTH. 

watchfulness of his guardiaus. The romantic lovers were 
privately but lawfully married ; and an end was thus put to 
the plan of making him an ecclesiastic. That he might be 
still farther removed, however, from the scene of hostilities 
between the Austrians and his unconquered countrymen, he 
was encouraged by the monarch to spend a portion of his life 
in travel. Readily accepting the proposition, he visited the 
most celebrated capitals of Europe, at each of which he was 
treated with unusual distinction. Returning, after several 
years of foreign residence, he found means of making his 
escape into his native land, where, with his beautiful wife, 
who had ardently espoused the interests of her husband, he 
settled down upon the impoverished estates, which had been 
left him by his father. 

There is no peace, however, whether abroad or at home, to 
a wounded spirit. Rakoczy still brooded, with a melancholy 
countenance, over the diminished splendor of his family and 
the ruin of his country. The nation did every thing in its 
power to revive the natural cheerfulness of his temper. The 
people loaded him with honors. Wherever he went, though 
he seldom left his dwelling, he was welcomed as the heir of a 
great ancestry, and followed by the benedictions of his fellow- 
citizens. But these personal regards could not soothe the 
heart, nor satisfy the spirit, of one in whose veins ran the 
blood of all the Rakoczys. His country was yet in bondage. 
The chains were weightier than ever upon it. Its constitution 
had been entirely subverted. A foreigner, by force of arms, 
bad seized a crown, once the property of his ancestors, now 
his own rightful inheritance. He saw the armed troops of his 
country's conqueror and oppressor all around him. The cities 
and the plains, the hills and valleys, of his illustrious land, 
he saw covered with desolation. Every day, almost every 
hour, brought to his ears some new outrage of the Austrian 
tyrant. Now, half a dozen peaceful villages would be burnt 
to the ground, because their inhabitants were suspected of 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 219 

fi-iendly feelings toward the annihilated constitution. Next, 
a whole county would be almost depopulated, because the 
people occupying it dared to worship the God of their fathers 
in the manner taught them from their cradles. Then, an 
enormous tax would be laid upon a province, because, in spite 
of a thousand similar oppressions, the province still seemed 
able to discharge it. All the time, the brutal soldiery, under 
the command or connivance of their generals, would enter the 
houses of the citizens, rob and plunder their possessions, vio- 
late the chastity of their wives and daughters, and spread a 
dismay quite as terrible as death all around them. 

In the midst of all this general desolation, the personal 
recollections of Rakoczy were of a character to aggravate, if 
possible, his feelings. His grandfather and great-uncle had 
been unmercifully beheaded — beheaded for supporting the 
laws and liberties of their country — beheaded because that 
country had made them its representatives in misfortune. His 
favorite cousin had been condemned to perpetual imprison- 
ment. His own father had been stripped of all his authority 
and honor, as a prince, and reduced to a state of comparative 
beggary. His father-in-law, or stepfather, had been pro- 
scribed, his venerable and noble mother driven into banish- 
ment, and the estates of nearly all his relatives and friends 
confiscated. Though a portion of his own patrimony had 
been restored to him, the tenure was only that of a royal 
grant, which might be revoked at the royal pleasure. His 
present and his future were at the mercy of a most cruel and 
unscrupulous despot. 

It was a still more melancholy reflection to the patriot, that, 
in himself, he saw and felt the condition of every liberal, free- 
spirited, citizen of ill-fated Hungary. It was evidently the 
determination of the emperor, independently of his own avowal, 
so to waste and weaken the whole kingdom, that it would never 
have the ability, if it could get the courage, to offer any farther 
resistance to his claim of hereditary sovereignty. A volume 



220 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

would scarcely hold the names of those, from the peasant to 
the prince, who were thrown into dungeons, despoiled of their 
possessions, sent into perjietual exile, or murdered in cold 
blood, because they were guilty of the crime, at all times un- 
pardonable in Austria, of being the advocates of religious 
freedom and democratic liberty. Leopold had resolved, as he 
often boasted, to cure the nation of its heresy, both eccle- 
giastieal and political. 

Rakoczy, had he been a man of superficial genius, would 
never have endured so long the cruelties and calamities heaped 
upon him. During all this time, however, his mind was at 
work laying the foundations of a future effort. With the 
sagacity of a philosopher, he was surveying and studying his 
position. His hour at length came. His country could wait 
no longer. His countrymen could bear no more. Appealing, 
in the most emphatic and patriotic language, to his fellow- 
citizens, he raised the standard of opposition in the name of 
oppressed and insulted liberty. Betrayed, arrested and im- 
prisoned, he escaped from his keepers and returned with re- 
newed zeal to the rising contest. He called upon the sons of 
Hungarian freedom to assist him in asserting the original and 
legal independence of the . kingdom. His voice was welcome 
to the impatient Magyars. They sprang to arms with a 
boundless ardor. The whole land, on the instant of this ap- 
peal, bi'istled with military weapons, and resounded with mar- 
tial music. The watchword, at this moment, was " death or 
liberty.'' 

Rakoczy was a statesman quite as much as he was a soldier. 
His visit to Paris, at a former period of his life, had been re- 
membered in the revolutionary capital. He had made an im- 
pression on the French people. At this juncture, he found 
no difficulty, such were his talents, of forming an alliance with 
the French, from which he had reason to expect great assist- 
ance. The period of this attempt, however, was not propitious. 
It was the unfavorable posture of European politics, in fact. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 221 

which had so long delayed his movements and occupied his 
profound cogitations. Spain, at that moment, was just break- 
ing off from her subjection to the house of Austria. The 
most of the Hungarians considered this circumstance as highly 
advantageous, to their undertaking. Eakoczy saw the future 
with a deeper penetration. He saw that Spain and Austria 
would not be the only parties to the coming combat. The 
event justified his foresight. France took the side of Spain ; 
and England, as almost a necessary consequence, espoused the 
quarrel of the imperial Austrian. While the war between 
these four powers lasted, the Hungarians were at liberty to 
pursue their purpose without opposition ; and it may be em- 
phatically asserted, that they did not fail to make the most of 
this brief hour of fortune. An army of one hundred thou- 
sand followed the footsteps of the Hungarian general. Every- 
where, in Hungary and in Transylvania, he was entirely suc- 
cessful. He routed the king's forces in every battle. He 
stormed and took the strong-holds and fortresses of the country. 
He occupied all the cities and towns with patriot garrisons. 
At last, such was the uniform splendor of his success, he ex- 
pelled every Austrian from the kingdom, formed a provisional 
government on the basis of democratic liberty, and sent up 
the flags of a redeemed nation from every hill-top throughout 
the country. 

The celebrated battle of Blenheim settled the question, for 
that time, between Spain and Austria. It may be said, also, 
that it settled the question between Austria and Hungary. 
The Austrian despot, according to his custom, had employed 
the troops of a foreign country to defend him in the hour of 
peril- According to that same custom, he now made use of a 
part of the same mercenary army to secure his authority, and 
establish his despotism, over the Hungarians. Sending his 
grateful acknowledgments to Marlborough, the English 
general by whose abilities he confessed himself saved from 
impending ruin, he dispatched the German portion of the 

19* 



222 nUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

victorious host against Eakoczy. The cud of Leopold, how- 
ever, was at hand. He died before he had seen the accom- 
plishment of his enterprise. > 

Joseph the First, nevertheless, continued the policy of his 
father. Herbeville, his commander-in-chief, wi^h a powerful 
and well-disciplined force, marched down on the southern bank 
of the Danube, hiding his movement, as much as possible, 
from the Hungarians, crossed the river at Buda-Pestb, pushed 
rapidly forward to the Theias, forced a passage to Szegedin, 
raised the blockade of Great Warasdein, deceived the vigilance 
of the Magyars, pressed his way through the fortified pass of 
Sibo, and, on the 22d of November, 1705, entered Transyl- 
vania with an army flushed with its recent successes and cer- 
tain of victory before the first blow was given. A few blows, 
in fact, were sufficient for that distant and therefore unguarded 
province. After taking Hermanstadt, the capital, he quickly 
reduced the whole country, and everywhere raised the standard 
of Austrian domination. 

In the west of Hungary, however, the fortune of the day 
was very different. There the patriots were entirely victorious. 
Not only did they hold possession of all parts of the country, 
to the exclusion of every man attached to the emperor, but 
they made hostile inroads beyond the limits of the kingdom^ 
invaded Austria, Moravia and Styria, and laid the engines of 
war before the walls of the imperial city. The next moment 
it was the intention of the IMagyars, after securing what they 
had thus achieved, to recline back upon the Austrians in Tran- 
sylvania, me6t them wherever they could be found, and free 
that province entirely from their presence. 

The emperor saw clearly the tide of fortune turning in favor 
of the patriots. His soldiers could do nothing with them. 
Some other weapons must be employed against them. No 
tyrants ever knew better what weapons to use in such an 
exigency. Their mode of warfare has been stereotyped for 
ages. First, they endeavor, as the cheapest means, to do what 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 223 

is necessary by their own military forces. When these no 
longer avail, they purchase the assistance of some mercenary 
ally. Lastly, if they have either gold or honors left, they 
spare no pains to bribe the leaders of the opposition, paying 
them their own price for their treacherous quiet. Such was 
the last resource of Joseph. Sending a minister to Rakoczy, 
he offered the chieftain the Margraviate of Burgau, as an 
equivalent for Transylvania, the restoration of all his patri- 
monial estates, and the dignity of a prince of the Austrian 
empire, if he would desert his countrymen, and deliver them 
to his mercy. To the patriots, at the same time, he secretly 
held out the offer of acknowledging the recently-formed Hun- 
garian confederacy, with its democratic basis, the confirmation 
of the constitutional rights and liberties of the people, and 
all the blessings of their municipal self-government, if they 
would desert their leader, or hand him over to imperial 
clemency. 

It is scarcely necessary to tell the result of such base pro- 
posals. They were spurned by the general and by the nation. 
Neither party would treat with the despot unless the other 
was included in the treaty. Nor was either of them to be 
satisfied, whatever overtures might'be made, until the Austrian 
government should be willing to acknowledge, in the strongest 
terms, the absolute independence of their country. They 
were ready, it is true, to consider Joseph as their lawful mo- 
narch, provided he would abandon his claim of hereditary 
succession and submit to the usual and time-honored custom 
of election. This, however, was the very point, which Joseph 
had studiously excluded from his propositions. 

The war went forward. Herbeville was replaced by general 
Heuster. On the 17th of August, 1708, that able general 
crossed the Waag under cover of the hills and forests, sur- 
prised the main body of the patriots under Rakoczy, and 
gained a decided victory. Six thousand Magyars were left 
upon the field, and as many more were captured. Rakoczy, 



224 nUNGAKY AND KOSSUTH. 



stunned by a fall from his horse, made his escape with diffi- 
culty from the sabres of his enemies. The defeat was perfect. 
The routed patriots were dispersed to all parts of the sur- 
rounding country. The Austrians again planted the ensign 
of their oppression. 

The losS; however, was only that of an army. The com- 
mander-in-chief was saved. The nation was unconquered. 
Other armies rose up, one after another, all over the kingdom, 
to fight for the freedom of their country. But it is singular, 
and worthy the study of a philosopher, how mysteriously every 
thing is inclined to go against a people, or a cause, however 
manfully that people or that cause may be defended, after a 
single disaster like the one just recorded. The loss, in such 
a case, seems not to be in the numbers killed, nor in the de- 
creasing courage of the defeated, nor in any want of determi- 
nation to do as valiantly as ever. Generally, after a defeat, 
the unfortunate party reti^rns to the combat more nerved than 
before it, resolving to redeem its tarnished honor by some 
splendid and overwhelming action. Generally, in spite of this 
resolution, they find it difficult to equal their usual conduct, 
if they are able to stand at all before a new, unseen, unin- 
telligible force, which their own discomfiture has imparted to 
their opponents. The moral power of an army is as important 
as the physical ; and it is the first duty, as well as the highest 
policy, of a general, through all vicissitudes, so to interpret 
and manage even his misfortunes, as to maintain among his 
followers the expectation of ultimate success. This, indeed, 
may be the solution of the mystery; for, it is well known, 
that, in the affairs of individuals, confidence in one's self is 
more than half the battle of this mortal life. Nations, too, 
have always acted, more or less, with a view to this funda- 
mental principle. Before every battle, the ancient Romans 
used to seek for the sureties of success through the supposed 
vaticination of their priests ; and it is historically certain, that 
more than one of their ablest commanders never failed to 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 225 

instruct their projjhcts what signs of victory to find in the 
entrails of the sacrificial animals, in the flight of birds, and 
in the visions of the night. It is remarkable, also, that, at 
the very moment now before us, the emperors of Austria, in 
addition to the victories of their illustrious general, had much 
to say of the heavenly revelations of still greater triumphs. 
Leopold professed to have received a presentiment of the issue 
of the memorable battle of Blenheim. The prophecy, without 
doubt, contributed to the fulfilment of itself. In the first 
days of Joseph, too, the figure of an angel, in the Italian 
chapel of Loretto, was reported to have moved its wings, as 
if waving a salutation to the events then approaching, by which 
the cause of the Catholic emperor was about to gain a con- 
cluding victory over the heretic nation of the Huns. Even 
in England, which was still fighting on the side of Austria, 
the most wonderfid portents were seen. The clashing of arms 
and the shouts of contending hosts were heard in the upper 
sky. A singular figure, mounted on a milk-white steed, rode 
through the fens of Lincolnshire, on the day of Marlborough's 
Austrian triumph, just as the apparition of Castor and Pollux 
had intimated to Regillus the fall of the Tarquins and the 
establishment of the infant liberties of Rome.^" 

Whatever may be the reader's opinion of the question, or 
of the intrigues and artifice of the imperialists, it is well set- 
tled, that, for some reason, the cause of the patriots, from the 
moment of their first defeat, rapidly and steadily declined. 
Kakoczy, as bold, as pru.dent, as sagacious, as patriotic as ever, 
saw every thing beginning to work against him. A misun- 
derstanding arose among the Magyar commanders. Some of 
them deserted, with whole regiments of troops, to the invaders 
of their country. Jealousy, and other evil passions, demoral- 
ized the martial character of several others. Despondency, 
when no one could tell the origin or the reason of it, began 

'" Coxe's House of Austria, vol. ii. pp. .513-514. 



226 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

to show itself in the hearts and in the countenances of the 
soldiers. As the courage of his compeers waned, that of 
Rakoczy waxed stronger, and impelled him into the most 
prodigious exertions of his great mind and soul. He was 
willing to do any thing, to suffer any thing, to take any place, 
which could bring any advantage to his nation. Toil, and 
travel, and exposure, and danger, were all taken as if they 
had been the dainties of a princely life. But all his sacrifices, 
all his exertions, all his sufferings, proved unavailing. The 
mining districts of the Waag first submitted to the conqueror. 
All Lower Hungary, excepting a single town, was next reduced. 
Transylvania soon fell. The last remnant of the patriot army, 
under the command of Berczeny, which had kept possession 
of the north-eastern part of Upper Hungary, was defeated on 
the 22d of January, 1710, by the Austrian forces commanded 
by general Seckingen. Neuhasel, the single unconquered 
town just alluded to, surrendered shortly afterwards ; and, in 
the following spring, Rakoczy, the greatest of the Hungarian 
patriots of that or of any former century, was compelled to 
shed his tears, in his retreat at the capital of Poland, over 
the prostrate liberties of the Magyars. The peace of Szath- 
m^r fastened the chains, which had been so long forging, on 
the only truly democratic people of modern Europe. 

Such was the mournful termination of the final struggle, 
till a very recent period, for the recovery of Hungarian inde- 
pendence. Rakoczy, after a short residence among his Polish 
friends, sailed to England. Thence he proceeded to France, 
where he was, the second tim^, received with distinguished 
honors. But the French, as is too much their custom, had 
disappointed the cause of liberty in its last extremity. They 
had done but little, if any thing, after the battle of Blenheim, 
to support the undertaking of their ally. The great general, 
therefore, was not easy in the society of Frenchmen. In 
1718, he went to Spain, hoping to gain the aid of the Spanish 
liberals, then led by the famous Alberoni, in a new attempt 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 227 

to conquer the liberation of his country. Last of all, he pro- 
ceeded to Constantinople, was honorably received by the sultan, 
who gave him the castle of Rodosto, on the sea of Marmora, 
where he spent the remaiiider of his days in writing out the 
history of the enterprise here recorded. In 1723, while he 
was yet living, the Magyars used his name once more, in a 
feeble and fruitless attempt then made to regain their inde- 
pendence. From that period we hear nothing of the hero; 
nor, until the beginning of the recent struggle, which eclipses 
every other in the annals of the nation, do we hear any thing, 
worthy of being stated, of a recovery of its liberty and its 
glory. 



228 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTEK IX. 

THE AUSTRIAN REVOLUTION. 

The seeds of all the democratic revolutions of modern ages 
were sown by the monk of Erfurt. Before his days, the cen- 
tral idea of all human society was, that one man's rights and 
responsibilities could be held and represented by another. In 
the earliest form of society, the oldest male ancestor of a 
family, or of a tribe, was styled the father, or the patriarch, 
who, it was conceded, had the natural right of governing his 
offspring. The king was only the high-patriarch of several 
of such tribes united. The emperor, in his turn, was the ac- 
knowledged head of a number of these kings. Such, in its 
idea, was human government till the days of Luther. 

According to this doctrine, all the rights of all the indi- 
viduals of a family, tribe, kingdom, or empire, centred in the 
father, patriarch, king, or emperor. Rights and responsibili- 
ties, however, always go together. If a person has not the 
right to govern his own conduct, he is certainly not responsible 
for that conduct. If his rights can be represented by another 
individual, so can his personal responsibility be thus repre- 
sented. Indeed, not only do these two things go together, 
but they must go together. The one involves the other. 
Where there is no right, there can be no responsibility. 
Where there is no responsibility, there can be no right. If, 
therefore, one man can represent another man, in the sense 
here supposed, then the representative must possess the rights 
and responsibilities of the represented. The individuality of 
the represented is lost in the individuality of the representa- 
tive. If the represented can choose his representative, then, 
in making the choice, he is a freeman ; but, unless he is at 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 229 

liberty to change his representative at pleasure, he is no longer 
free. Nature has set bounds, a period of cessation, to the 
authority of the father, who, during the minority and depend- 
ence of his children, justly acts for them ; but it is the natural 
tendency of the patriarchal, regal, or imperial rule to per- 
petuate itself, independently of all individual rights and 
responsibilities, and independently of the wishes of the 
governed. 

Although the doctrine, that every individual is personally 
responsible for his own conduct, because he is free to govern 
his own conduct, is the fundamental principle of the Christian 
religion, everywhere inculcated in the Christian Scriptures, it 
was not very clearly understood in the apostolic age, and was 
totally subverted by the establishment of the papal system. 
Popery is the perfection of the old doctrine of representation. 
Instead of taking up the great idea of individual liberty, re- 
vealed to us in the doctrine of individual responsibility, and 
going forward before the world, as Christianity was intended 
to do, as the champion #f personal and universal freedom, it 
espoused the ancient, obsolete, monarchical idea, that, even in 
the most private matters, the mass of mankind are not capable 
of acting for themselves, and of bearing their own responsi- 
bilities, but must be represented by persons appointed for the 
purpose. The idea is carried out with the most rigid and 
tyrannical exactness. The priest represents the laymen ; the 
bishop represents the priests ; the archbishop represents the 
bishops; the cardinal represents the archbishop; the pope 
represents the cardinals. The pontiff is the connecting link 
between society and Grod. All the transactions, between men 
and their Maker, must take this road. When the common 
man has deposited his sin with the priest, by what is called 
auricular confession, the depositor has no farther responsibility 
about it ; but, as the Roman theory is, it goes before the Judge 
as an act to be forgiven, or already forgiven, through the per- 
sonal authority of the representative. If, on the other hand, 

20 



230 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the layman wishes any grant, blessing, or favor from the 
Creator and Euler of the universe, his only recourse is, as 
before, to make application to him, whose right it is to receive 
from heaven and to dispense on earth the benefactions of the 
Almighty. 

Protestantism is emphatically a denial of this whole theory 
of representation. It is a recovery of the original doctrine 
of Christianity. It makes every man, in every act, and under 
every circumstance, responsible for himself. It involves, as a 
necessary consequence, the immediate assertion of personal 
liberty for every human being ; because men are not slow to 
see, that, if they must answer for what they do, they must be 
let to do what they please. Catholicism, therefore, in the very 
nature of it, is the religion of irresponsibility and of despot- 
ism. Protestantism, on the other hand, is the religion of 
responsibility and of freedom. The right of private judg- 
ment, the hinge of Luther's movements, has ever been the 
terror of both priests and kings. 

This grand principle of the KefStmation spread rapidly 
through the world from the hour of its announcement ; but 
the first open and practical declaration of it, as a rule of social 
action, was made by the Pilgrim Fathers. These were 
Englishmen, who, while being taught, by the English kings 
themselves, the doctrine of the right of private judgment, 
which includes the most absolute liberty of conscience and of 
worship, were not permitted to enjoy what was thus theoretic- 
ally allowed them. Indeed, in their day, the Reformation in 
G-reat Britain was but little better than a favorite abstraction. 
The country at large looked upon it as a beautiful speculation. 
With the Puritans, however, it was a real substance. They 
saw in it the germ of a new dispensation. They made it their 
own by giving their whole life, and thought, and being to it. 
They resolved to make it, for themselves and for posterity, a 
tangible and living reality. It was for this resolution that 
they were obliged to leave their country, and, in the heart of 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 231 

Germany, to undergo the pains of exile. It was for this reso- 
lution, that, while in their place of banishment, where the 
native jieople were not yet entirely emancipated from the 
papal theory of society, they had to suffer a thousand intole- 
rable inconveniences. It was for this resolution, that, after 
their patience was exhausted, and they had nothing more to 
hope in Germany, or in Europe, they breasted the billows of 
the Atlantic, braved the dangers of an unknown region, and 
made for themselves a settlement and a home within the depths 
of the American wilderness. It was for this resolution, that, 
after a century and a half of oppression by the mother coun- 
try, which still followed them to their last retreat with her 
practical denial of her speculative instructions, they raised and 
supported the standard of American Independence. Here, on 
this soil of ours, for the first time since the world was made, 
the doctrine of individual responsibility and liberty became 
the avowed and fundamental principle of human society and 
government. 

In the great struggle of our Revolution, France was our 
chief ally, to whose assistance we are eminently indebted for 
our national existence. The leading motive with the French 
government, in granting us its friendship, it cannot be denied, 
was derived from its settled and historical animosity toward 
England. Still, when the work of the allies was completed, 
when the independence of this country had been achieved, 
France became directly and personally interested in the cause, 
to which she had generously given her support. She beheld 
with admiration the image of a free government, which had 
risen into being upon our shores, working with a harmony, a 
beneficence, and a promise never realized by any government 
before. Her sons, who had been pupils in the bloody school 
of our Revolution, went home to tell their countrymen of the 
first fruits of civil freedom. The French nation, in the pro- 
gress of more than two centuries since the days of Luther, 
had had time to drink deeply at the fountain opened by that 



232 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

reformer. It received, with a very general sympathy, the re- 
ports of those heralds of human liberty from the fields of 
Monmouth and Saratoga. Lafayette, the leading disciple of 
our Washington, became the great apostle of French emanci- 
pation. Catholicism, of course, opposed him ; but the infidels, 
as they were called, paralyzed for the time the arm of popery; 
and thus the French sprang up as the first consequence of the 
American Kevolution. 

It is an acknowledged fact, as generally confessed in France 
as in any other country, that the French Revolution, begun 
for the sake of liberty, grew up to be at last the very worst 
of tyrannies. Such, also, is the geographical position of the 
nation, and such is the disposition of its possessions, that, 
more emphatically than can be said of any other country, it 
can never move without imparting its motion to the states 
about it. When, therefore, out of the ruins of the democratic 
revolution, the Man of Destiny arose to be a commanding 
spirit, he had only to stamp his foot to make Europe tremble 
all around him. 

The result of the French Revolution was seen in the great 
Congress of Vienna, where, by their diplomatic representa- 
tives, the crowned heads of the nations, after long and mature 
deliberation, brought to light their celebrated Settlement of 
Europe. The primary object of this Settlement was to organ- 
ize the leading European monarchies against the democratic 
spirit of their respective populations, and particularly against 
the French, who had stepped forward as the champion of re- 
publican institutions. 

To accomplish this work, it was necessary to reconstruct the 
nations, adding to one by taking as much from the others, and 
uniting governments, which had always been separate and 
independent. Thus, in the first place, Austria and Prussia, 
the two leading Powers, must be regarded as the center of the 
new system, and they must receive, also, the chief benefits of 
the arrangement. All Europe must be so disposed of as to 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 233 

maintain their ascendency, and make tliem secure in it, with- 
out prejudice to the more distant and less interested nations. 
France, as the sinning nation, which had caused all the ex- 
pense and hubbub, must' give up to the two central Powers a 
large tract of her fine country west of the Rhine. Holland 
and Belgium must be united in order to form a northern bar- 
rier to it. Poland must be partitioned for the satisfaction of 
the great Russian autocrat, whose influence was predominant 
in the congress. Sardinia must be aggrandized at the expense 
of the minor and less royal of the Italian States. Saxony 
must be confiscated for the gratification of German claimants. 
Hanover must be confirmed in»its English leanings to win the 
support of Britain ; and every thing else must be done to 
make Austro-Prussian Germany the center of central Europe, 
and to guard that center by a barrier of friendly nations. 

But the obstacles to this arrangement were very great. Old 
national land-marks were to be taken down and new ones 
erected. No respect was to be paid to blood, or race, but 
people of difi"erent and hostile descents were to be united. 
The three religions of Europe, the Greek, the Catholic, and the 
Protestant, were to be entirely overlooked, and their votaries 
crowded together, and made to live in amity. 

These were formidable objections to the new Settlement; 
but the Settlement must be made, right or wrong, wise or un- 
wise, for the present safety of European monarchy against the 
growing democracy, and particularly against that of the French 
nation. It was made ; and the result was what a prudent 
man, or a philosopher, should have expected. 

In the first place, France was more mad than ever. She 
had lost her " line of the Rhine," and with it some of her 
richest provinces. Next, Holland and Belgium began to quar- 
rel ; and the struggle between them terminated in the inde- 
pendence of the latter country. Then Poland raised her voice 
against her own destruction, but was soon lost in the grasp of 
Russian ambition. Italy, too, had been unsettled by this 

20* 



234 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Settlement, and began to agitate herself in behalf of her own 
nationality and independence. Neither she, nor the kingdom 
of the Netherlands, wished to be merely the sentinels to this 
Austro-Prussian domination. Spain was dissatisfied, as her 
hereditary claim to Holland had been virtually confiscated by 
her superiors ; and even Russia was unsatisfied, having received 
nothing from this great bargain worthy of her acknowledged 
greatness. 

Next, the monarchs of these several nations, feeling them- 
selves more than ever secure against domestic popular com- 
motions, began to bear down upon their subjects with an 
oppressive tyranny. Though their people might rebel, when 
they could no longer endure, the kings had agreed to help 
each other against all such democratic struggles. Disturb- 
ances, however, did arise; the people were disappointed; some 
of the kings themselves, who had not gained all that had been 
expected, or who had lost something by the Settlement, were 
uneasy ; and a second meeting of the Allied Powers was held 
at Aix la Chapelle, in 1818, to resettle the Settlement of 
Europe. 

Prior to this second Congress, in spite of the general treaty 
between the Powers represented in it, several of them had 
made private arrangements among themselves, and with their 
nearest neighbors, which had given great dissatisfaction to the 
Alliance. But the meeting at Aix la Chapelle could not 
remedy the evil, nor even prevent its continuance and growth. 
No sooner had the representatives gone home the second tii»e, 
than those brotherly monarchs began their private intrigues 
again, bargaining and re-bargaining, plotting and counter- 
plotting, as if no general understanding had been made. 

France, mad from the very first, and resolved some day to 
have her revenge for her lost "line of the Rhine," and her 
fair provinces on that natural border, started several theories 
to effect this object. First, she began to agitate what her 
political writers called the Alliance Russe, namely, the con- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 235 

elusion of a treaty, offensive and defensive, with Russia, against 
the rest of Europe. The idea was a natural one. It was easy 
for the cZtssatisfied and the i^isatisfied to form a league. But 
it was never formed. France feared the overbearing absolutism 
of Russian politics ; and Russia was as fearful of the mer- 
curial spirit of democratic France. The bait, however, on both 
sides, was tempting. France offered Turkey to her colleague; 
and Russia was to re-establish France in her Rhenish pro- 
vinces. But fear ruled. There was no love, or confidence, or 
even common faith, between them. 

The next idea of France was to form a grand alliance be- 
tween herself and those minor nations of Europe not repre- 
sented in the Congresses of Vienna and Aix la Chapelle, of 
which she, of course, was to take the lead. This was not a 
new idea. It was the idea of the old Federative System of 
France, which sprang from the fertile brain of Richelieu, and 
which had been the support and glory of the Capets. From 
the death of Henry the Fourth to the French Revolution, a 
period of about two hundred years, this policy had made 
France the most powerful of the European kingdoms. It was 
now to be 'revived. The second-rate nations, which had had 
no hand in the Congresses, were naturally jealous of their 
haughty and powerful superiors, by whom they had been over- 
looked ; and France was fully able, with their co-operation, to 
make head against the world. Every thing was ripe for this 
great measure, when, in July, 1830, the Revolution of the 
Three Days broke out, which overturned all prior calculations 
by setting Louis Philippe upon the throne of France. 

Now, a third idea arose from the selfish and conservative 
mind of Louis, and spread by degrees through the kingdom. 
It was the idea of the Alliance Anglaise, by which England 
and France were to become friends for their common good. 
The navy of the one, and the army of the other, could to- 
gether sweep both sea and land. They were both constitu- 
tional monarchies, and hence had a common interest at stake; 



236 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

and the commerce and manufactures of the one, and the agri- 
culture of the other, would cauae them to harmonize at every 
point. Thus, Louis established the English policy in France, 
and, by the support of it, intrenched himself in an almost 
despotic power. He surrounded Paris with high walls. He 
fortified the city, not so much to defend it against a foreign 
power, as against the citizens themselves. When thus 
strengthened, he began more daringly to show his hand; 
and he seemed determined to kill, before his death, that 
democratic temper which the people of France have so long 
possessed. But he was unequal to the task. The old mania, 
the " line of the Ehine," still survived. The lost provinces 
were not forgotten. The passion for popular freedom and 
republican institutions was yet alive. New doctrines, too, 
totally hostile to monarchies, of socialism and its cognates, 
had risen from obscurity to power. The Pope had been 
strangely setting to all Catholic nations the example of reform. 
His first act, after his elevation, had been to recal all persons 
exiled for political offences, who, in genera], were the leading 
republicans of his dominions. He had next liberated the 
Jews from their social imprisonment in the Ghetto, giving 
them the right of choosing their residences in any portions 
of the city. He had made himself the friend of the poor and 
the advocate of universal progress. By nominating the demo- 
cratic Mamiami and his associates to the ministry, after the 
assassination of Rossi, he had converted his government into 
a democracy, which instantly took the lead of reform in Eu- 
rope. France, more susceptible than any other European 
state, was the first to feel the significancy of this Italian move- 
ment. Her people were in raptures over the liberality of the 
new pontiff. Her monarch, however, remained what he had 
been. His policy was yet monarchical and British. He was 
thus separated, more than ever, from the national feeling and 
common sympathies of his people. His English leanings, at 
a time of popular agitation, covered him with suspicion. The 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 237 

eternal antipathy to England, and to every thing English, was 
still rankling in every French artery. Meetings of the citi- 
zens began to be called. They were so numerously attended 
as to excite the apprehensions of the monarch. The monarch 
forbade them ; and, lo ! the torch was set to the train, so long 
prepared, and so ready to take fire, when all Paris exploded 
like a mine ! 

Berlin was ready for the match. For more than thirty 
years, the Prussian monarchs had been promising their sub- 
jects a regular constitution; and for thirty years they had 
been deluding them with fair promises and no fulfilment of 
their pledges. At last, when the patience of the slowest race 
of men on earth was utterly exhausted, and they began to 
demand some tangible acknowledgment of their liberties, the 
king called the representatives of the nation together, only a 
little time before the events of Paris, and gave them an oral 
constitution, declaring that it should never be written, as he 
would have no mere piece of paper forming a barrier between 
him and the people given him of God ! The representatives 
were astounded. They retired in amazement mingled with 
revenge. They made a supper of brilliant lights and empty 
dishes, as an emblem of the bright promises and worthless 
performances of their king. Being the first men of Prussia, 
and not a few of them princes, they found no difficulty in 
spreading their discontent among the people; so that, as 
soon as the first news of Paris reached them, the masses 
of the population, headed by leading minds, were ready for 
their work. 

Austria, too, was not less ripe for a revolution. The tyranny 
of the Hapsburgs had not spent itself against the Hungarians 
alone. It had long been felt at home. It had been acknow- 
ledged as well as felt. From the earliest times, it had been 
too open, too daring, too sweeping, to be overlooked. In the 
first years of the Reformation, a large proportion of the Aus- 
trian people, if not a majority of them, were Protestants. 



238 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Under the reign of Maximilian, a secret friend to Luther, 
they were protected from Catholic persecutions; and they 
came very near getting into their hands their domestic govern- 
ment. The state of things, however, changed. The succes- 
sors of Maximilian were all rank Catholics. Still, after all 
the harsh measures of all the selfish and unfeeling sovereigns 
of that imperial house, the political influences of the Lutheran 
doctrine had been preserved from utter annihilation among the 
middle classes of the papal dukedom. While the very rich, 
by reason of their ambition, and the very poor, by virtue of 
their ignorance, had long since followed the court in its reli- 
gious intolerance, a highly respectable portion of the inde- 
pendent and enlightened commonalty, by far the most valuable 
part of every monarchical country, had retained no little of 
the spirit, if not the letter, of the Keformation.^ 

The schools of G-ermany, also, had done much to perpetu- 
ate, and even to increase, the democratic spirit. Austria had 
enjoyed nearly her full share of this tendency of the higher 
education. The imperial University of Vienna has long been 
one of the first in Europe. Its faculties have been numerous, 
large, learned, and generally patriotic. Its students, always 
immense in number, have been extensively from the wealthiest, 
proudest, noblest houses of the whole empire; and the re- 
mainder of them have been the representatives of the leading 
merchants, bankers, manufacturers and mechanics. This body 
of young men, the flower of the first families of Austria, by 
the time their course of educational discipline is completed, 
are carried quite above the narrow, bigoted, selfish policy of 
their rulers. It is a singular fact, worthy of observation and 
recollection, that a truly liberal education seldom fails to make 
a man liberal in his feelings. In all countries, since the cause 
of education has had a history, the graduates of the world's 



* Cose's House of Austria, toI. i. cliap. 25, p. 387, and many other 
places in the same volume. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 239 

great schools have generally been, at the time of graduation, 
stanch republicans. Personal ambition, lured by the corrupt- 
ing influences of society ai^ound them, has too often bought 
them off, in monarchical countries, from liberty to despotism ; 
but many of them, in spite of all the temptations of their 
position, have remained, in every land, the friends and advo- 
cates of human freedom. It has been so in Austria. The 
thousands of young gentlemen, who, for many generations, 
have been pouring out from her higher seminaries of learning, 
and particularly from the University of Vienna, have been 
annually filling the empire with enlightened democrats. To 
whatever post they might afterwards be raised, or into what- 
ever circumstances of honor or of influence they might chance 
to fall, they were sure to remember, with a lively interest, 
though they might seldom mention, the bright visions of uni- 
versal happiness and freedom vouchsafed to them by the Attic 
goddess, and the indelible pictures of social liberty drawn upon 
their young hearts, while they were perusing the democratic 
pages of the Greek and Koman classics.^ 

It must be remembered, too, that the capital of Austria lies 
less than thirty miles from the lines of Hungary, where de- 
mocracy is the life and spirit of the dominant population. 
Between the two countries, there has always been an open and 
general intercourse. While many of the Magyar magnates, 
who have made their residence at Vienna, have sold themselves 
to their country's tyrants, so far, at least, as to remain silent 
at the sight of that country's wrongs, thousands of the Aus- 
trians, on the other hand, have learned to admire the people, 
and to pity the nation, thus cruelly oppressed. Between the 
Austrian and Hungarian democrats, there has always been, 
since the death of Francis the First, quite a general sympathy, 

* Since the late revolution, Austria has inserted several of the 
more liberal of the Greek and Roman writers in her Index Expurga- 
torius ! 



240 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

which needed only some common purpose to render it positive 
and strong. 

That common purpose was destined to take its origin from 
the Magyar land. The Hungarian Diet of 1832, the year in 
which Francis died, was a Diet of reform. Though, by the 
constitution, it is the source of all law to Hungary, the Na- 
tional Assembly had not been convoked for full seven years.^ 
While the French war lasted, the emperor called it frequently 
together, because he could not otherwise resist the French. 
The Magyars were his chief reliance in the hour of need. 
The session of 1807, however, after making an appropriation, 
complained severely of the profligacy of the ministers of the 
crown, and threatened to withhold further supplies, unless a 
prudent expenditure of the revenues should be promised and 
maintained. It made a declaration, also, in favor of free trade. 
In 1812, as had been foreseen by the Magyar Assembly, Aus- 
tria declared herself a bankrupt. The Hungarian diet of that 
year refused to give its sanction to such an act. It boldly 
told the emperor, that, to preserve the honor of the whole 
country, he ought to pay his debts. It told him, that if he 
would secure a frugal u^e of the moneys granted, the Magyars 
would pay their full share of his liabilities. Such language 
could not be pardoned by such a king. The National As- 
sembly was prorogued ; and it was not called again, till, in 
the very last year of a long and eventful reign, the aged and 
dying monarch saw the sceptre about dropping from his hand. 
He wished, of course, to settle such questions as related to 
the succession before his death. 

When called together, however, in a legal manner, after so 
long a dispersion, the Assembly resolved to do its duty to the 
nation. The first of its bold undertakings was the emancipa- 



' Paget (Hungary and Transylvania, vol. i. p. 129) says twenty-five 
years ; but the traveler is in a mistake. There were diets in 1807, 
1812, and 1825. See Pulsky's Hist., Introduction, pp. 131-132. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 241 

tion of the peasants. The peasants of Hungary, as we have 
seen, were originally placed in as eligible a condition as they 
had any reason to expect. During the two native dynasties, 
male and female, their position was not greatly changed. In 
the beginning of the sixteenth century, after Hungary and 
Austria had been united, they were reduced to the state of 
serfs. They remained in this condition, with several unim- 
portant fluctuations between the years 1547 and 1556, till the 
publication of Maria Theresa's celebrated code of serf-laws, 
styled the Urbarium, more than two centuries from this latter 
date. For two hundred years, they were but little better than 
common slaves. In one respect, the lot of the slave is de- 
cidedly preferable to that of the Hungarian serf, as held by 
the Austrian rulers of that land. The serf was bound to live 
and die upon the spot that gave him birth. He belonged to 
the soil, by the Austrian law, as much as the trees that stood 
in his master's field. With it he was bought and sold. If his 
landlord was a cruel man, there was scarcely the hope of any 
remedy, such as is common in a land of slavery, because his 
release involved the sale of the entire estate of which he made 
a part. In 1764, by the publication of her peasant-code, 
Maria Theresa conferred a new condition, almost a new exist- 
ence, upon this class. Such was the romantic character of her 
despotism, that she published her code without waiting for the 
consent of the representatives ; but, after the death of Joseph 
the First, it was formally sanctioned, ^^till another and more 
liberal one could be prepared." By this body of laws, the 
peasant was forever emancipated from the soil. He could 
leave his landlord at pleasure, by giving him due notice, and 
by the payment of his own debts. While remaining with him, 
a fixed quantity of land was assigned to his personal use, 
which, so long as he performed certain duties, he could hold 
by law. The burdens upon him, nevertheless, were very 
great. For a full portion of land, he had to labor for the 
owner one hundred and four days of every year. Every four 



242 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

peasants had to furnish a man and a horse, at the bidding of a 
landlord, for a two-days' journey. Of all the productions of 
the earth, with a few trifling exceptions, in addition to these 
duties, every peasant had to deliver up one-ninth to his master 
as his lawful rent. Besides all this, the peasants had to make 
all the roads, bridges, canals, and other internal improvements 
of the country. They had to feed the army, both in peace 
and war, and pay all the expenses of the government of their 
country, though they could not act directly in the creation and 
execution of the laws. Should they complain, or prove re- 
fractory in any case, the master could inflict corporal punish- 
meiit, though the lashes allowed him were restricted to twenty- 
five. Such were the leading provisions of this code. The 
single fact, that the landlord could whip his tenant, as often 
as he thought proper, is a sufficient proof, that the peasant was 
legally regarded, not as a citizen, even in the lowest significa- 
tion, but as a slave. 

The diet of 1832, acting upon the long-neglected provision 
laid down at the adoption of this code, that it should exist 
only until a better one could be made, declared, that the time 
for that better one had come. This was the beginning of the 
Hungarian democratic party. It was a beginning, however, 
to a rapid progress and a glorious result. It was a noble sight, 
a sight never seen before, to behold the parliament of a great 
nation, in which chiefly the land-holding classes were repre- 
sented, debating the propriety and duty of relinquishing a set 
of lucrative claims, over a prostrate race, when those claims 
were fully guaranteed by the sanctions of custom and of law. 
But the democratic spirit had taken such hold of the Hun- 
garian mind, that nothing less than the personal emancipation 
of every peasant would satisfy its high demands. Hungary 
resolved to be a land of citizens, not of serfs, of freedom, not 
of slavery. After determining to make every male inhabitant 
of mature age a voter, thus basing the liberties of the country 
on the equality of its people, the National Assembly pro- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 243 

ceeded to lay down a course of action, for the Magyar nation, 
which, if carried out, would make it indeed a nation, and not 
a province of a neighboring and tyrannic realm. It restored 
the language of the country by new and strong enactments. 
It prepared the way for the revival of the native literature, by 
incorporating a national literary institution, to which the 
democrats subscribed the most liberal sums. It commenced a 
series of internal improvements, of which the great suspen- 
sion-bridge at Pesth is a memorable result, by which the de- 
pressed country was to be elevated to the condition of a modern 
state. For four years, without interruption, this body of 
patriotic legislators went forward with their work, ever keep- 
ing the renovation and glory of the Magyar land in view. 

All tiiese measures were steadily opposed by the Austrian 
government. It would not do to have a democratic country, 
as large and powerful as Hungary, in the heart of a despotic 
empire. Every thing was to be done rather than see so dan- 
gerous a result. Every thing was done, that could be done, 
to quench the democratic spirit of the Hungarians. When 
the ordinary means of opposition had been exhausted, means 
the most extraordinary in other countries, but common enough 
in this, were at once adopted. It seems that the baron Wesse- 
lenyi, at that time the leader of the patriots in the upper 
Chamber, during the debates, made use of some very strong 
but very appropriate epithets of reproach against the course, 
which, for centuries, Austria had been taking. He told the 
Magyars, that, in their new efforts to benefit and bless their 
country, they should not be troubled by what the Hapsburgs 
might do, or say, or think ; that it had always been the inten- 
tion of those monarchs to reduce Hungary from the condition 
of an independent kingdom to that of a royal province ; that 
they had ever pursued a policy by which they hoped so to 
weaken the Hungarian nation as to render it incapable of 
making resistance to the imperial despots ; that, among the" 
steps taken to secure this end, they had always been opposed 



244 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTTI. 

to the political and social elevation of the Hungarian peasants; 
and that their abettors were those JMagyar magnates, who, 
bribed by the royal favor, under the pretence of maintaining 
the privileges of their class, were acting a part in opposition 
to their country.*. 

Such freedom in telling an unwelcome truth was not to be 
let pass in silence. It might stand as a precedent for the re- 
establishment of the liberty of speech in Hungary. That 
would be sure to work the downfall of Austrian domination. 
Wesselenyi was impeached for treason. The cause, of course, 
went against him. In both the courts, before whose tribunals 
he was successively arraigned, the judges were the creatures 
and the tools of Ferdinand. The baron was sentenced to a 
three years' imprisonment, in some strong-hold or castle, for 
what he had uttered in debate, in an open parliament, on a 
question legitimately up for discussion ! 

At the same time, and before the same tribunals, several 
young men were tried for treason, against whom the charge 
was laid of having held certain political meetings during the 
sessions of the diet. By what mode of reasoning the imperial 
government pretended to make such an act a crime, and 
especially a crime of the highest grade, I am not informed - 
The probability is, that no reasoning was made use of, or re- 
quired. The act of impeachment was merely an exereise of 
power. The young gentlemen were friends of their country ; 
and that, in the eyes of a Hapsburg, is at all times crime 
enough. According to the laws of their land, they could not 
be imprisoned for such a cause, as there was a statute posi- 
tively forbidding it. But laws are no obstacles to a tyrant, 
when he has the might. As the civil code could not punish 
them, it was expressly suspended in their case ; and they were 

* Tlie language of tlie baron, respecting cne item, was terribly 
severe. He said Austria was "sucking the marrow of tlie Hun- 
garian peasantry " City of the Magyar, vol. i. p. 232. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 245 

sentenced, by military law, to a close confinement for three 
years in some convenient prison.* 

Finally, in the presence of the same judges, and by a simi- 
lar process, another individual was brought up, at the time 
spoken of, for treason. He was a young man, in the prime 
of early manhood, whose appearance at once arrested the atten- 
tion of spectators. He had been lying for several months in 
prison, contrary to the statutes. Of middling size, but of a 
most noble bearing, he gave evidence to every beholder, that 
he was no common culprit. In color, his countenance was a 
lively brunette ; his face was round and full ; his forehead, 
high and open j his hair, black, rather long, glossy, and fall- 
ing in natural ringlets ; his eyes, blue, very prominent, and 
full of soul and meaning; his eye-brows, large and black, 
overhanging the parts they shaded ; his teeth, full in numbers, 
evenly set, and as white as ivory ; his mouth, small but neatly 
formed, the very paragon of this organ ; his movement, easy, 
dignified, and remarkably prepossessing. An immense con- 
course of his countrymen, who surrounded the hall of justice, 
proved the interest that his previous career had raised for him. 
From the evidence and pleadings in the suit, it appeared, that 
he was the son of a poor but respectable Hungarian, who re- 
sided in one of the northern counties ; that, by the energy of 
his own character, without the help of any of his kindred, 
he had acquired a liberal education, and graduated with 
the highest honors of his college ; that, still helping himself, 
he had completed the study of the law, and made himself a 
master in the profession; that, pushing his inquiries forward, 
he had acquired a deep and extensive knowledge of public 
matters, and, while yet a youth, had gained the reputation of 
being a profound statesman ; and that, in consideration of his 
marked talents, though still very youthful, he had been selected 
to appear in the current session of the diet as the representa- 

' City of the Magyar, vol. i. p. 233. 
21* 



246 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



tive of an absent magnate. Not being allowed, in that ca- 
pacity, to take that part in the proceedings of the Assembly, 
■which his great abilities demanded, he Bad occupied his spare 
time in furnishing the Hungarian people with a full and cor- 
rect account of the transactions of their servants. Prior to 
his day, such a, thing had never been attempted, as there was 
an Austrian law against it. To effect his purpose, he had 
condescended to learn the art of short-hand writing, and had 
given himself ixp to the task of writing out the votes and 
speeches of the members. To avoid the law, which forbade 
the " printing and publishing" of what was transacted in the 
diet, he had gone to the expense of litJiograpMng the matter 
thus prepared by him. In this way, he had started a public 
journal, at the seat of government, and had gained for it a 
prodigious circulation. Soon after its commencement, how- 
ever, the new journal had been interdicted. The young patriot 
had been forbidden to lithograph, as well as to print and pub- 
lish, a political newspaper for the benefit of the Hungarian 
people. Not yet daunted, and not to be foiled in his patriotic 
undertaking, he had next devised and executed the plan of 
publishing a manuscript paper, against which no law could be 
leveled, that would not equally abridge the necessary practice 
of writing letters. The new edition of the journal, indeed, 
was nothing but an open letter, containing the proceedings of 
the National Assembly written out in a perfectly legible hand- 
writing. At first, the copies of it had been folded and sent 
by post ; but, on discovering that they were not delivered to 
his subscribers, but destroyed by order of the government, 
the editor, still determined to outdo the machinations of the 
despot, had organized a system of private expresses, which 
ramified to every town, village and hamlet of the country. 
Such had been the demand for his publication, in this form, 
that he had circulated an edition of ten thousand, every line 
of which had been copied by young scribes employed by him 
for the purpose. Thus, in spite of the censorship of the press. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 247 

in spite of the tyranny of the post-office, in spite of all the 
power of a most powerful and stringent government, a free ■ 
paper had been prepared^ published, read and felt everywhere, 
by the fertile and indomitable spirit, by the energy and cour- 
age, of that beautiful young man, who now stood up to an- 
swer for his conduct. Foiled in every attempt to master him, 
the Austrian tyrant had sent his ministers to apprehend him, 
and to stop the paper by throwing its proprietor into prison. 
In the dead of the night, while walking for meditation on the 
shore of the Danube, he had been snatched up by the myrmi- 
dons of the imperial court, blindfolded, and conveyed to a 
dungeon of which he knew not the name. After a long con- 
finement, during which the Hungarian people were entirely 
ignorant of his condition, he had been released for trial. It 
was to defend himself against the accusations of such an 
enemy, that he was now permitted once more to appear in 
public. It was to witness the issue of this strange proceeding, 
that so vast a multitude of his countrymen had assembled. 
Every movement of the young patriot was watched with eager- 
ness. As a lawyer, profoundly learned in his profession, he 
knew well enough how to manage his own business. He was 
highly intellectual, and could meet the ablest of his antago- 
nists, and annihilate the strongest of their reasons. He was 
eloquent; and, when his learning and his logic had obtained 
the victory, he could raise the enthusiasm of the spectators, 
and turn to a deathly paleness the cheeks of his imperial 
judges. Until that day, Hungary had never witnessed so 
magnificent a struggle for life and liberty. All the efi'orts 
of the young man, however, proved fruitless. He had been 
condemned before his trial; and the judges only sought pre- 
texts by which to give his punishment a show of legality. 
He was sentenced to a protracted and solitary imprisonment. 
He was at once conveyed ofi" and let down into a deep, damp, 
unwholesome dungeon within the castle-fortress of old Buda. 
On his way to prison, he leaned his head upon his hands, as 



248 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

if lost in meditation. Some one a&ked him how he felt. " I 
feel something nameless in me/' was his only answer. What 
was then nameless, however, has since been turned to history. 
That young man was Louis Kossuth.^ 

The news of these tyrannical proceedings flashed with the 
speed of lightning to the Austrian capital. The people of 
Vienna were by this time fully prepared for action. The 
revolution of opinion had become visible among them. Not 
only those called democrats, but the body of the population, 
were beginning to be excited. The bond of sympathy between 
the German and the Hungarian patriots was now perfected. 
They both saw, with no little clearness, a common interest, 
and a common object. From that moment, till the breaking- 
out of the European revolutions, they had acted very much in 
concert.'' 

In the year 1834, an association was formed in Vienna, con- 
sisting at first of only twelve members, who held secret ses- 
sions for political and revolutionary purposes. The society 
was organized within the walls of the Austrian university; 
and the twelve original members were professors and students 
of the Institution. The merchants of the metropolis, together 
with the better class of artizans and mechanics, had been so 
long and so grievously oppressed, by the imperial system of 
taxation, that they had generally become quite hostile to a 

* City of the Magyar, vol. i. p. 233. The description of Kossuth's 
person is given on the authority of the Hue and Cry sent out after 
him by Austria at a subsequent period. There is, therefore, no 
flattery in it ; and I shall make it a rule, in all that I have yet to 
say of that hero, to confirm my language by the statements of his 
enemies. See, for example, Louis Kossuth and Hungary, by an 
anonymous, but evidently an Austrian writer, from the press of John 
Eodwell, London, chap. iii. pp. 17-32. 

' " Thus it appears," says the Austrian tory, "that the more in- 
telligent among the Hungarians acted in concert with the reformed 
party in Germany ; and they had a mind to establish themselves as 
a revolutionary party." Louis Kossuth and Hungary, p. 51. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 249 

monarcliy, and had even begun to theorize privately about the 
establishment of a republic. The students knew the wishes 
of the citizens ; but the citizens did not, at that period, fully 
comprehend the democratic temper of the students. 

Kossuth, it was acknowledged, nevertheless, had been sacri- 
ficed to the Austrian doctrine of the censorship of the press. 
There was no difference of opinion respecting that point. In 
Austria, and in Hungary, he was regarded as a martyr. The 
liberty of the press, therefore, became at once the salient point 
of his increasing party. For the three years that he was lying 
in the lower walls of the castle-fortress, the patriots of the 
imperial capital, in conjunction with their Hungarian as- 
sociates, were hard at work infusing into the public mind cor- 
rect ideas concerning this fundamental subject. In 1841, the 
martyr was restored to liberty. His first act was to look about 
him for his companions in misfortune. Soon afterwards they 
appeared from the cells in which they had been separately in- 
carcerated. But they came not back from prison as they had 
entered it. The cruel treatment they had received had been 
nearly fatal to all of them. The great Wesselenyi was entirely 
blind. Lovassi, one of the young gentlemen, had become a 
maniac. The three others had contracted mortal diseases and 
were about ready for their burial. Kossuth, possessed of a 
firmer constitution and of a stronger will than his associates, 
by which to resist the natural effects of suffering, came out 
without the loss of any faculty, bodily or mental, but with 
broken health. From the hour of his release he was never 
well. He went immediately to the watering-place of Parad, 
among the Matra mountains, for the restoration of his attenu- 
ated and damaged frame. His name, his spirit, his high pur- 
pose, went to Vienna, while they enjoyed the power of an 
omnipresence in his native country. 

In the year 1846, a petition to the emperor, for the aboli- 
tion of the censorship, was signed by the members of the 
association, and then circulated among the principal inhabit- 



250 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

ants of the Austrian capital ; and when it reached the hands 
of the monarch, only a few days after its appearance, it carried 
with it the weight of more than two thousand well-known 
names. 

The next two years did the work of a century against the 
absolutism of the Hapsburg house. In Hungary, the demo- 
crats achieved prodigies of labor for "the cause of the people; 
and the people began to know their friends, and to reward 
them for the risks they ran and the deeds they performed. 
In Austria, the tyranny of Metternich began to be talked of 
openly by the populace ; and their secret conversations took 
the form of charges against his administration. They com- 
plained, and very justlj, that he had hindered the empire from 
making a development of its resources^ lest it should become 
strong enough to resist the despotism of his master; that, still 
farther to weaken it, he had established the habit of fanning 
the jealousy of the races, maintaining the ascendency of the 
king in Austria by setting the Sclavic Bohemians in opposition 
to their G-erman countrymen, and preserving the submission 
of Hungary by pitting the Sclavonians and Croats against the 
Magyars ; that he had kept the subject realms and provinces 
in a state of absolute paralysis, by an interchange of standing 
armies, cunningly employing Italian and Swiss troops in Hun- 
gary, Hungarian troops in Italy and in Switzerland, and a 
mixture of these foreign troops in Austria, thus holding each 
people down by such soldiers as would not hesitate; from any 
feelings of kindred or of country, to use the most bloody 
methods against any popular demonstrations; that, not satis- 
fied with binding the hands and the feet of his several vic- 
tims, he had laid his shackles upon the mental and moral 
capacities of the empire, by forbidding the pen to write, the 
press to publish, or the tongue to speak the first syllable of 
remonstrance against this system of oppression, or the first 
letter in favor of the slightest freedom of opinion ; and that, 
as a necessary and fatal consequence, the world around them 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 251 

was careering onward inH.he paths of prosperity and of glory, 
leaving Austria entirely behind, a standing but decaying 
monument of her own stubbornness and folly. Every word 
of these respective charges was as true as the words of a 
revelation. They expressed, in the briefest manner, the long- 
continued policy of the Hapsburgs. It was the policy, by 
which they had maintained their position, as the representa- 
tives of an insignificant dukedom at the head of a large empire, 
for several ages. The Austrians themselves, the most favored 
of the imperial subjects, could bear that policy no longer. 
JMetternich, the able and unscrupulous supporter of the weak 
but equally unscrupulous emperor, had become an acknow- 
ledged reproach to the party by which his administration had 
been upheld. Not only the untitled gentry, but many of the 
highest nobles, worn out by his unpatriotic measures, or tired 
of his unpopularity, had deserted his standai'd and left him to 
his doom. The great barons, Dobblehof and Stifft, together 
with the counts Breuner and MontecucuUi, had joined the 
ranks of the liberals, then headed by professors Hye and 
Endlicher, whose influence in the university was supreme. 
It had even been circulated, but with very little credit, that 
the arch-duchess Sophia, the most influential member of the 
famous Camarilla, or kitchen cabinet, was secretly favorable 
to the opposition. Nothing, however, derogatory to the mo- 
narch was at that time uttered by responsible individuals, 
while a thoroughly revolutionary politics was rising into a 
most active though noiseless life, and silently spreading among 
the people. The hearts of a majority of the citizens had been 
perfectly converted to a revolution ; from the heart the revo- 
lution had gradually ventured to the lips ; but, as yet, the 
lips had confessed the general faith only in the softest and 
most secret whispers. When, at the opening of the great 
revolutionary year, Ferdinand the First used to ride, uncon- 
scious of his danger, through the wooded parks and delightful 
pleasure-grounds of Shonbrunn, the vast empire, of which he 



252 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

was chief, was tottering to its dissolution. It was held 
together by the fears of the many and the hopes of an 
ambitious few. These bands were destined to be broken in 
a day. 

The Hungarian patriots, during the two years now under 
consideration, had been heartily at work. No language can 
describe the popularity of Kossuth and W^ssel^nyi after their 
liberation. W^sselenyi, in other years, had been the great 
champion of Transylvania ; and the Transylvanians now car- 
ried the old patriot in their arms. Kossuth, though the 
champion of the whole kingdom, was a Magyar; and the 
Magyars now repaid him for his sufferings by every mark of 
honor in their power. Before his imprisonment, he had sup- 
ported his mother and his three sisters at the expense of hard 
labor and many personal sacrifices; and when, in consequence 
of his confinement, he could protect them no longei', they were 
maintained by the voluntary and abundant contributions of 
the people. No sooner was he out of prison, than all men 
sought his company, and his name was blessed from one bor- 
der of the country to the other. Such was his fame, that an 
engraver at the Hungarian capital established himself in the 
single business of taking impressions of his portrait, and sell- 
ing them at wholesale in all parts of Hungary. As the two 
patriots had been one in misfortune, so, when restored to 
liberty, they resolved to be one in their patriotic labors. 
Kossuth, whose talents as a writer were surpassed only by his 
sagacity as a statesman, undertook the publication of the Pesti 
Hirlap, a political newspaper, the sole object of which was the 
advocacy of Hungarian independence. Wesselenyi, blind and 
feeble as he was, commenced a series of pilgrimages over 
Hungary, as an apostle of liberty, to preach the doctrine of 
Hungarian freedom to his countrymen. The venerable martyr 
was everywhere welcomed with enthusiasm ; the cause of the 
country received a new impulse ; and, in 1847, while the two 
friends were still at work, in spite of the power and gold of 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 253 

Austria, Kossuth was returned to the National Assembly as 
the leading representative for Pesth. 

Before going to his place in the parliament of his country, 
the young statesman spent a portion of his time, crowded with 
occupations as he was, in establishing a political society, called 
the Association of Protection. It was the object of this 
association to defend the Hungarians against the iniquitous 
tariff of duties, laid upon all imports and exports, by which 
the business and industry of Hungary had been annihilated. 
The members bound themselves to wear no garment manu- 
factured from foreign cloth, to use no raw materials in their 
occupations derived from Austria, and to give no encourage- 
ment to importations of any kind, or for any purpose, until 
the duties should be reasonably reduced. From among the 
members, a company was organized to start several manufac- 
turing establishments for the production, at home, of the most 
necessary commodities. A severe blow was thus struck at the 
despotism of the imperial government; and Hungary was 
opportunely encouraged to repudiate her financial dependence 
on a foreign country, and to enter the business world on her 
own account. 

Hardly had the new representative become accustomed to 
his seat, in the National Assembly, before he was acknowledged 
by all parties, and by all people, as the greatest orator that had 
ever stood there to speak. " The parliamentary speeches of 
Kossuth," says an enemy, "were, even at that time, like 
burning arrows, which he hurled into kindred minds, thereby 
urging them to a fanatic enthusiasm." " His oratory," says 
the same writer, in another place, " was like a large battery 
with heavy pieces of ordnance, whose discharge did the most 
fearful execution. The poisonous sting of his interpolations, 
his despotic power in the house, and his intrigues out of doors, 
formed in themselves a power — so to say, an army — against 
the stand-still policy of Metternich." At another time the 
young member is more graphically presented, by this historian, 

22 



254 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

as the orator "with the flaming tongue," who stood behind his 
great friend, Louis Batthidny, " hurling his fiery projectiles" 
at the heads of his quailing adversaries, and reveling in his 
power to kill and make alive. There can be no doubt, that, 
at this period of his life, Kossuth was the most formidable 
debater of modern times. There he stood, planted in the 
very presence of his Austrian opponents, advocating the cause 
of popular liberty for his country, meeting every objector that 
ventured to rise up against him, and scathing and blasting all 
unmanly opposition, with a resistless sweep of eloquence, which 
rendered dumb whom it did not convince. Such had been his 
career during the first year of his incumbency. The Paris 
revolution found him at his post.^ 

The news from France ran to Vienna with telegraphic speed. 
On the 2d day of March, the naked announcement of a French 
revolution reached Pressburg, where the Hungarian Diet was 
in session, but the details were still to come. The next day, 
before those details were known, Kossuth arose in his place 
and pronounced the most memorable speech, though not the 
most eloquent, of his life. Its sagacity, and its boldness, have 
never been surpassed. From the first words of the introduc- 
tion, it was manly, decisive and independent: "I am happy 
and grateful," said the orator, " in seconding the motion of the 
honorable member for Raab, although I am firmly convinced, 
that the extraordinary features of the present time compel us 
to take our leave of private bills. I second his motion, be- 
cause I think it a fit opportunity to entreat you to be alive to 
the enormous responsibility of the moment, and to raise the 
policy of the parliament to a level with the times. The local 
question in relation to the bank I will not now discuss. It is 
true, Magyars, Austria has embarrassed us enough. But this 
is a secondary matter. What we ought to ask for is the budget 
of the Hungarian receipts and expenditure, which have hitherto 



Louis Kossuth and Hungary, pp. 98-102. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 255 

been mixed up with those of our neighbors. We ought to 
ask for the constitutional administration of our finances. We 
ought to ask for a separate and independent financial board for 
Hungary ; for, unless we have this, the foreign government, 
which rules us without our advice, is likely to embarrass our 
finances almost to hopelessness. In a recent speech, touching 
the relations of Austria to this country, I expressed my con- 
viction, that the constitutional future of our nation will not 
be secure, till the king is surrounded by constitutional forms 
in all the relations of his government. I expressed my con- 
viction, that our country was not sure of the reforms it desired 
at home ; that we could not be sure of the constitutional ten- 
dencies of those reforms, and of their results, so long as the 
system of the monarchy, which has the same prince that we 
have, remains in direct opposition to constitutionalism, and so 
long as that privy council, which conducts the general ad- 
ministration of the monarchy, and which has an illegal and 
powerful influence on the internal afiairs of the country, re- 
mains anti-constitutional in its elements, its composition, and 
its tendency. I expressed my conviction, that, whenever our 
interests conflict with the allied interests of the monarchy, the 
difierences thus created can be removed without danger to our 
liberty and welfare only on the basis of a common constitu- 
ency. I cast a sorrowful look on the origin and the develop- 
ment of the bureaucratical system of Vienna. I remind 
you, that it reared the fabric of its marvelous power on the 
ruins of the liberty of our neighbors; and, recounting the 
consequences of this fatal mechanism, and perusing the Book 
of Life, I prophesy it in the feeling of my truthful and faith- 
ful loyalty to the royal house, that that man will be the second 
founder of the House of Hapsburg, who will reform the sys- 
tem of government on a constitutional basis, and re-establish 
the throne of his house on the liberty of his people. "^ 

^ Louis Kossuth and Hungary, pp. 102-118. 



256 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



These sentiments, which every Hungarian felt, but which 
no other Hungarian had dared to utter, came upon the Na- 
tional Assembly like an electric shock. They constituted the 
first open, positive, responsible utterance of a revolution. The 
revolution was to be, not of one race against the other races, 
as the enemies of the Hungarians have vainly said, but of all 
the races, of all the nationalities, of all the integral portions 
of the empire, rising up in behalf of a government, which 
was to be at once liberal, constitutional and universal. The 
words of Kossuth, carried by the wings of lightning to Vienna, 
were adopted as the confession of faith of the Austrian pa- 
triots. Two days afterwards, the particulars of the French 
revolution, confirming entirely the first telegraphic announce- 
ment, were published at the Austrian capital, and read with 
general enthusiasm by a majority of the populace. The 
government, however, was apparently not alarmed. Some of 
its ofl&cials, like Pulsky, a Hungarian nobleman, foresaw the 
future and began at once to speak of it ; but their admonitions 
were derided, at least they were disregarded, by nearly all the 
members of the imperial cabinet.^" 

Kossuth's demand, however, for a constitutional govern- 
ment, which was to acknowledge the equality and independ- 
ence of all the nationalities, and unite them all in the forma- 
tion of one great country, continued to resound all over the 
Austrian empire. It was particularly accepted and seconded 
at the royal university. Clearly seeing, that the work before 
them was not to be entirely a bloodless work, the society of 
the students organized .a military company, styled the Legio 
Academica, to which the citizens secretly furnished arms. 
The cause of the revolutionists now went forward with accele- 
rating speed. Every man's heart and mind seemed to be 
enfranchized. Every man began to feel and to think for him- 
self. The tongue next resolved to speak without restraint. 

'" Pulsky's Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady, vol. i. p. 108. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 257 

The press soon followed on, in the same spirit, and asserted 
for itself the right of putting into general circulation what 
had been freely uttered in the smaller but equally responsible 
circles of private conversation. Fetter after fetter was thus 
broken, till, before the slightest alteration had been effected 
in the laws of the land, statutory or fundamental, the people 
had asserted and achieved a constitution, as real as if it had 
been written with the point of a diamond, or recorded on a 
plate of brass. 

The Austrians, however, were not satisfied, because they 
were not yet safe. They had claimed their rights as human 
beings; but their claims had not been ratified by the still 
existing though nearly nominal authority of the state. They 
wished to secure the public assent of the emperor to the free- 
dom thus obtained. Unless they could thus entrench them- 
selves behind the forms of law, the imperial government might 
afterwards restore its despotic power, and support the restora- 
tion by force of arms. The possibility of such a result, how- 
ever, was immediately cut off for the current time. On the 
13th of March, in less than two weeks after the first rumor 
of the revolution at Paris had taken wind among them, the 
Academic Legion, supported by a vast concourse of Viennese, 
marched out of the city in a solid body to the imperial palace, 
to echo the demand of Kossuth for a constitution, for a liberal 
monarchy, for the immediate abolition of the irresponsible 
monocracy. The imbecile and unmanly emperor, a much 
weaker man than he was generally supposed to be, is reported 
to have fled to an under-ground passage-way behind the royal 
residence, which he and his cowardly predecessors are said to 
have constructed for their personal security against popular 
outbreaks, toward which they were conscious a despotic govern- 
ment is incessantly contributing. Nothing could induce the 
feeble old monarch to leave his subterranean strong-hold. All 
the assurances offered him, that no one wished to harm his 
person, that a hair of his head should not be violated, that 

22* 



258 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

liis royal sanction to certain political measures was the only 
object of this visit, were not enough to recal him from his 
place of burrowing. Like a frightened denizen of the ground, 
he considered it the safer part not to return to the light of day, 
until the game should be given up and the chase abandoned. 
The chase, however, was not in sport. While the people 
meditated no indignity to their absconded prince, they were 
determined he should not thus evade them. No sooner was 
their resolution known, than the king capitulated, surrendering 
his power, but not his person, at discretion. He treated with 
his subjects and granted them every thing they wanted. 
From his unknown retreat, with the tramp of his people heavy 
on the ground above him, he sent forth to them those self- 
humiliating but glorious concessions, by which the liberty of 
the press, the publicity of law-courts, trial by jury, the in- 
stantaneous dismissal of prince Metternich, and the promise 
of a representative and free constitution, according to the idea 
before laid down by Kossuth, were secured, one after the other, 
to the victorious patriots. At the close of this eventful day, 
in which Austria had been legitimately revolutionized and 
emancipated without the shedding of one drop of blood, all 
the citizens went home to tell their wives and children, that 
the tyranny of the House of Hapsburg was no more to haunt 
them. The centre and the south of Europe were that day 
redeemed from bondage. 

, No man of modern history has been more generally or justly 
celebrated, for the exact appreciation and improvement of his 
time, than Louis Kossuth. His plan of a constitutional em- 
pire required, that each country, according to its historical 
limits, should become an independent member of the imperial 
confederation. He asserted this doctrine for Hungary, with 
a distinct emphasis, because she would thus be recovering what 
actually belonged to her. She had been an independent and 
sovereign country from the days ©f Arpad. She had never 
resigned that independent sovereignty ; and Austria, during 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 259 

the wliole period of its domination, had been compelled to 
make a theoretical acknowledgment, that Hungary was not 
an Austrian province, but a separate kingdom. This ac- 
knowledgment had been made in the most important par- 
ticulars. Among the Magyars, the emperor of Austria was 
never known as emperor, but as king. His title was entirely 
different in the different portions of his dominions. The im- 
perial Charles the Sixth of Austria, for example, was simply 
the royal Charles the Third of Hungary. In the same way, 
Ferdinand the Fifth, as the Austrians styled their recent mo- 
narch, was known as Ferdinand the First among his Hun- 
garian subjects. The laws of Hungary have always recog- 
nised this necessary distinction. The governments of the two 
countries, too, in the first years of their connection, were 
entirely separate, each having its own cabinet of ministers. 
All the officials of the Hungarian kingdom, the vice-royal 
Palatine, the lords-lieutenant of the counties, and the judges 
of the royal courts, were always regarded, not as the repre- 
sentatives of the House of Hapsburg, but of the House of 
Almos, or of Arpad. Joseph the Second, so late as 1770, by 
refusing to be crowned king of Hungary, though he was con- 
fessedly the emperor of Austria, was never acknowledged by 
the Hungarians, but his name has been scrupulously denied a 
place on their list of sovereigns. Leopold, his successor, be- 
fore he was allowed to perform the first act of sovereignty, 
was compelled to submit to the ordinary practice of being 
crowned, and to take the customary coronation oath, by which 
he bound himself to administer the laws of Hungary, as if he 
were simply the monarch of that country, without another 
foot of dominion in any other quarter of the globe." 

All this, however, at the time now under notice, though 
still constituting the theoretical government of the kingdom, 
was practically null. It was merely a concession in forra, 

" Leopold. Secund. Decret. Art. x. 1790. 



260 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTn. 

•without tlie least actual validity. The emperor of Austria, 
though he changed his title upon crossing the Hungarian 
border, was the emperor still, Th« officers, judicial and ex- 
ecutive, appointed to represent the king, really represented 
the imperial will. The cabinet of native ministers, who, in 
the first ages, had always resided at the Magyar capital, and 
attended to Hungarian questions, had been reduced to a little 
bureau of clerks, called a Chancery, which formed an attach- 
ment of the Austrian court at Shonbrunn. While the name 
of independence was thus kept up, the substance had long 
before passed away. Kossuth resolved that that substance 
should now be restored. This, as he justly thought, should 
be the first step toward the creation of a constitutional empire, 
because, the moment that Hungary could recover her inde- 
pendence, more than one-half of that empire became subject 
to a regular constitution. It would be the first step, also, 
toward the instauration of liberty in the center and the south 
of Europe, because the Magyar constitution was not only 
liberal, but democratic. The course of such a man as Kos- 
suth, under such circumstances, could not be doubtful. The 
revolutions all around him were only the outward expressions 
of the popular demand, for the restoration of rights once exer- 
cised, or for the realization of concessions often made. The 
Austrians, too, had just obtained the promise of a general and 
liberal constitution. The next thing, as Kossuth thought, 
was for each element of the empire, for each distinct country, 
to assert its own independence. In this way, when arranged 
under one general constitution, they would form a confedera- 
tion of united states, like that of our own fi*ee country. This 
was Kossuth's original idea. At all events, whatever might 
be the doctrine or the destiny of the other provinces and 
kingdoms, he was positive, that the period had come for the 
Hungarians to claim and recover their own separate integrity, 
which had been so long and so violently withheld from them. 
The claim was made. Like the other, it came from the lips 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 261 

of Kossuth. By the first rumor of the revolution at Vienna, 
he was startled from his seat in the Hungarian diet. With a 
promptness, a sagacity, a courage, an eloquence, scarcely ever 
found united in the same person, he arose before the assembled 
legislators, when all others sat confounded, and openly proposed 
to send a deputation of their body to the emperor, demanding 
the immediate dissolution of the Hungarian Chancery, and the 
restoration of the original and constitutional cabinet, which 
should at once take its place in the legislative assembly of the 
nation. With a manner equal to the dignity of the occasion, 
and with tones of almost superhuman eloquence, pointing to 
the ministerial seats so long left vacant, he exclaimed : — " For 
six hundred years, Magyars, we formed a constitutional state. 
We will, therefore, that, from this moment, ministers again sit 
upon these benches, to hear and answer our questions. From 
this day forth, Magyars, we wish to have a Hungarian 
ministry \" 

The speaker sat down. A short period of the most perfect 
silence followed. It was a sublime moment. A nation was 
considering whether it would assert, or yield up, its existence. 
It was Hungary in the act of deciding, whether it would con- 
tinue as the virtual province of a foreign power, or again be 
itself a country. The struggle of thought was not protracted. 
The words of the eloquent statesman had gone to the hearts 
of his noble auditors. The call, suddenly as it had fallen 
upon the diet, was almost unanimously supported. A com- 
mittee was at once raised, with the originator of the move- 
ment at its head, which was to repair at once to the residence 
of the emperor, and ask for the creation of a new cabinet of 
ministers, composed of native and resident Hungarians, whose 
sole business should be to attend to Hungarian affairs. Kos- 
suth, with his deputation, reached Vienna on the 15th of 
March, where his voice was decidedly more powerful than that 
of Ferdinand. The poor young man, who had made his own 
fortunes, and who had just been the victim of the imperial 



262 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

government, had become more mighty than that government. 
Wherever he appeared, his footsteps were followed by vast 
throngs of Viennese, who covered him with the glory of their 
eulogies.*^ 

Personal glory, however, was not the aim of Kossuth. 
Proceeding directly to the palace, and avoiding as much as 
possible all ostentation, he met the ministry of the trembling 
monarch, and the monarch himself, face to face. Ferdinand 
must have remembered the prisoner of Buda. It would have 
been an enviable sight, could the walls of the royal residence 
have been rendered transparent for the moment, to have be- 
held the majestic bearing of the Hungarian patriot, in the 
presence of his abashed king, and heard him giving utterance 
to his country's high determination, in that magnificent and 
overpowering eloquence so peculiar to himself. Though the 
scene of that great hour is left to some future poet or painter, 
who shall be found worthy of the task, the results of the 
strange interview have been given to the world. The king 
yielded at every point. Count Louis Batthianyi received the 
royal command for the immediate formation of the proposed 
cabinet. That cabinet was created almost upon the spot. It 
was composed of men whom Hungary will have reason to re- 
member to her latest day : Louis Batthianyi was Prime- 
Minister ; Louis Kossuth was Minister of Finance, the most 
responsible position in the government ; Bertalan Szemere was 
Minister of Home Affairs ; Francis Deak, of Justice ; General 
Lazar Meszaros, of War ; Gabor Klauzal, of Trade ; Count 

" Baron Pillersdorf, late Austrian Prime-Minister, and now the 
apologist of the emperor, is forced to acknowledge the popularity 
of the delegation: "In this conflict, in which eyei'j spring was put 
in motion, in order to weaken and exhaust the vital powers of the 
empire, inflicting, at the same time, the deepest wounds on the com- 
merce and industry of the capital, the majority of the people inclined 
toivard the Hungarian leaders." Political Movement in Austria, by 
Baron Pillersdorf, London, 1850, p. 55. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 263 

Stephen Szechenyi, of Public Works ; Baron Josej)!! Eutvos, 
of Public Instruction; and prince Paul Esterhazy was ap- 
pointed to be a sort of Mediator between the Austrian emperor 
and the Hungarian king ! The style of his office was that of 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, as if Hungary, in her future 
dealings with the House of Hapsburg, in its imperial cha- 
racter, had already resolved to treat it as the head of a foreign 
government ! 

The revolution of Hungary was now practically complete. 
The constitution of St. Stephen was restored. The patriots, 
after giving their blessing to their democratic brethren of 
Vienna, returned in high spirits to their expectant country ; 
and that country, from the walls of Pressburg to the turrets 
of Belgrade, applauded the noble and successful daring of the 
diet, and particularly the foresight, the courage, the energy, 
the persevering and triumphant patriotism of its leading man. 
By his personal sacrifices at home, and by the magic of his 
name abroad, he had begun and completed the revolution of 
the empire, including both Austria and Hungai-y, within the 
compass of just twelve days, and that without the expenditure 
of the first drop of blood. Well might the name of Kossuth, 
from that glorious moment, be echoed and re-echoed over 
many lands ! 

The success of the great Hungarian was not lost on the 
patriots of the imperial metropolis. The emperor, it is true, 
had pledged his word to them in favor of the measures, which 
they had pressed upon his attention on the loth of March. 
But the sight of the Magyars, if not the advice of Kossuth, 
reminded them that no confidence could be placed in the royal 
word. The history of the imperial house was a sufficient 
justification of this distrust; and Ferdinand, in particular, 
was evidently too weak, too craven, to be firm. The revolu- 
tionists demanded a written document, signed by the imperial 
hand, publicly confirming what had been only privately granted 
in an hour of dread. On the 16th of March, with the rcadi- 



264 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

est compliance, Ferdinand proclaimed a constitution, which, 
after a full acknowledgment and satisfactory sanction of all 
his verbal concessions, gave authority to the citizens, not only 
to provide themselves with arms, but to organize a national 
guard, whose duty should be to maintain a just execution of 
the laws. The army, so long the bulwark of Austrian despot- 
ism, was now more than counter-balanced by the imperial 
grant. The people, in a word, had won the day. Their will, 
for ages stifled, was not only perfectly enfranchised, but armed 
with the decisive authority of the sword. The revolution was 
legally confirmed; and, on that evening, till a late hour at 
night, every house in the Austrian capital blazed with a sud- 
den illumination, excepting only the palace of the twice-fallen 
king. This was shrouded with perpetual darkness, as if em- 
blematic of the fact, that the glory of royalty had departed 
from its halls, and found a more fit resting-place in the habita- 
tions of the people. 

Until the 21st of March, though Metternich and his minis- 
try had been dismissed, a ministerial interregnum occurred, on 
which day count Ficquelmont was placed at the head of the 
first reform cabinet. All his associates, excepting only general 
Zanini, Minister of War, were noblemen, so ready were the 
people to leave to the monarch the enjoyment of every non- 
essential gratification, if he would only allow them the benefit 
of wholesome laws and a liberal constitution. Although the 
new charter was not universally satisfactory, with a due amount 
of caution, and with a wise condescension to the wishes of the 
better classes, the government might have proceeded, without 
farther revolution, to a gradual and final settlement of the 
state. But the new ministry seemed bent on their own de- 
struction. In direct contradiction to the octroyed constitution, 
and in open violation of the public faith, they published, on 
the 21st of March, their famous Regulations of the Press, 
denying to the citizens the free use of the pen, when they 
had wrenched from the fallen monarchy the authority of the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 265 

sword. The public had conquered the right of doing what 
they pleased ; but they could give no full and free account of 
their own proceedings, not even to themselves. Such a con- 
tradiction could not last long. The citizens again rose ; the 
government again yielded ; and the first reform ministry, with 
the exception of a single member, were hurried into private life. 
The second cabinet, with baron Pillersdorf as President and 
Minister of the Interior, had no sooner taken its position, than 
another error, more flagrant than any of its predecessors, shook 
every corner of the realm. In the octroyed or imperial con- 
stitution, the immediate convocation of a Constituent Assembly 
had been promised. This body was to be authorized, by the 
joint consent of the people and of the government, to prepare 
a new and more perfect constitution. The best policy of the 
ministers, therefore, evidently was, to call that assembly into 
existence as soon as possible, that the excited populace might 
have occasion to take their eyes from the king and his cabinet, 
and throw the responsibility of meeting the emergency upon 
a body to be created by themselves. Thus, several months 
of quiet would have been easily secured, during which the 
passions of the masses would have had time to cool. But 
wisdom had departed from the imperial halls. The Constitu- 
ent Assembly was deferred by every petty pretext within the 
reach of ministerial ingenuity and power. The President of 
the ministry, in the mean time, was daily closeted with the 
political theorist and speculator, Hok, drawing up a second 
constitution, which was to be foisted upon the country before 
the assembly should be convened. On the 25th of April, this 
cabinet document, which was merely an expansion of the well- 
known Belgic Fundamental Laws, was published to the world. 
All classes of the citizens were astonished. The patriots felt 
themselves insulted. The National Guard arose in arms. 
The Academic Legion, always first in the cause of liberty, 
tore up every copy of it, on which they could lay their hands, 
and scattered the flying fragments to the winds. 

23 



266 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The folly of the government was still unable, or unwilling, 
to receive instruction from these facts. By a third movement, 
it perfected the annihilation of its credit with the people, 
whom it professed to serve. The National Gruard was now 
fully organized ; and, in its transactions with the throne, it 
was represented by a Committee of Public Safety, elected from 
its own body by itself. This Committee, necessarily large to 
give it proper weight, was too unwieldy to meet the daily 
emergencies of the public with suitable dispatch. Out of this 
larger body, therefore, a smaller one was chosen, styled the 
Central Club, whose duty it was to attend to sudden wants. 
The Club held daily sessions, in which the conduct of the 
ministers, and the condition of the country, were discussed. 
As the cabinet sank lower and lower in the confidence of the 
public, this small delegation of the most able and prudent 
citizens was compelled to accept of more important duties, 
until they became the virtual rulers of the state. The pride 
of the ministry was now piqued. They resolved to put this 
new power out of their path. The mode of executing their 
resolution was very blundering. In the first place. Baron Pil- 
lersdorf called on several members of the Committee of Public 
Safety, and inquired into the transactions of the Club. These 
gentlemen could very truly say, that they knew little of what 
the Club was doing, as the larger body was not called together, 
whenever the smaller one could meet the exigencies that arose. 
The President of the ministry, therefore, very rashly and 
foolishly concluded, that the Club was an unauthorized body, 
because some members of the parent Committee were not con- 
versant with its acts. An edict of abolition next thundered 
from the imperial press. Vanity of vanities ! Little did the 
people care, at this time, what edicts, or interdicts, issued from 
the palace of a cowardly, obsolete and imbecile king. The 
very next morning after the publication of this decree, the 
Academic Legion, supported by a large escort of the Civic 
Guards, and followed by crowds of the enraged populace, 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 267 

marched out of the city to the pleasure-palace of Schonbrunn, 
filled all the courts and corridors with armed men, and clamor- 
ously demanded the withdrawal of the interdict upon the Club. 
The ministers refused. The agitation thus excited no language 
can describe. The citizen-soldiers surrounded the royal resi- 
dence with a wall of arms. A deputation was sent in to make 
the requisition, in behalf of Austria, not only of an instan- 
taneous recantation of the hated interdict, but for the revoca- 
tion of the April constitution, the immediate calling of the 
Constituent Assembly, and a considerable expansion of the 
new law of sufirage, by which the elections were to be go- 
verned. "In this dilemma," says Pillersdorf, speaking for 
himself, " conscious of having lost the confidence of the people, 
the ministry, in order to preserve the inviolable prerogative of 
the throne — [that is, to save the king from making the con- 
cessions asked for by an outraged people] — tendered their 
resignation, and thus transmitted to their successors the deci- 
sion of the pending demands \" Cured, at last, of their mad- 
ness, by the sure results of their impotent attempts at despotic 
domination, when the people had become the ruling power, 
they were unwilling to meet the storm raised by their own 
agency, and, therefore, resigned. Two days afterwards, on 
the 17th of May, the poor old emperor, fearing that his sub- 
terranean burrowing-place might not now protect him, without 
giving the slightest notice of his intentions to his ministers, 
whose resignation he had refused, fled from Vienna to Inn- 
spruck, the chief city of the Tyrol, leaving his cabinet and 
his capital to their fate. 

The work of revolution was now done. The old monarchy 
had passed away. The citizens had caught the robe of empire 
as it fell. The Club, and the Committee of Safety, now took 
command. Ferdinand was not only gone ; but he might not 
be able to come back. Hid among the mountains of the 
Tyrol, which nature has made almost inaccessible to troops, 
he looked out upon the agitated world, and was glad, amid the 



268 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

universal wreck of monarchy and of monarchs, that he could 
call his own life his own. Wherever he turned his eye, he 
saw nothing but the signs of annihilation to his house. Not 
only was his great capital in arms against him, but, also, 
nearly every department of his widely-extended empire. 
Hungary had led the way. Bohemia had risen for a nation- 
ality of her own. The Croatians and Sclavonians, whom he 
had excited to rise in rebellion against the Magyars, had given 
him much reason to doubt, whether they would ultimately 
join with their brethren of Bohemia, or with him. His 
Italian provinces, prepared by thirty-three years of gross op- 
pression, had raised the standard of independence, and de- 
feated all his armies in the bloodiest of fields. The Tyrol 
itself, to which he had confided both his fortunes and his life, 
might catch the sparks of the Italian conflagration, through 
the passes or over the summits of the Julian Alps, and sur- 
round his last retreat with the flames of a devouring fire. 

If he looked to foreign countries^ he could see no hope of 
succor, but a similar ruin prostrating or threatening the mo- 
narchies of the European world. All Prussia was, by this 
time, rocking with the heaviest throes of her revolution. 
The smaller kingdoms and principalities of G-ermany had 
hurled their petty tyrants from their positions. There was 
no longer a king in France. Norway, Sweden and Denmark 
were supposed to be on the brink of a civil outbreak. Ireland 
had demanded an instantaneous repeal of her union with Great 
Britain. Great Britain, which, in the beginning of this uni- 
versal trouble, had dispatched Sir Stratford Canning to carry 
her consolations to her Austrian confederate, was now pale 
with the impending horrors of a united Chartist and Hibernian 
rebellion. Rumors of a republic hiad come from the capital 
of the Russias, promising to give the Czar so much occupa- 
tion, that he would not be able to lend a helping hand to his 
Austrian cousin. The people of the Roman States had nearly 
achieved a liberal constitution. Sicily had declared her inde- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 2G9 

pendence of the Bourbon sovereignty of Naples. Naples was 
trembling at the voice of an outraged population ; and even 
the valiant queen of Spain, the invincible Christina, on hear- 
ing of all this trouble, had sunk in a swoon in the midst of 
her warlike attendants. The fearful old emperor of Austria, 
concealed among the impregnable crags on the south-western 
border of his dominions, beheld nothing, in the day of his 
own humiliation, but the rubbish of prostrate thrones, and the 
upraised banners of popular revolution, all around him ! 

Note. — It is ■with pain that I have stated the conduct of Great 
Britain in relation to the Hungarian movement ; but the statement 
is made on authority, which cannot he disputed: " The English go- 
vernment," says Baron Pillersdorf, in the work heretofore quoted, 
"during the ominous period of Austria's embarrassment and dis- 
tress, never withheld warm manifestations of sympathy, and assurances 
of its spontaneous support .'" Political Movement, p. 40. The people 
of England were the friends of Hungary. The government was the 
ally of her oppressor. After the war was over, the government was 
compelled, by the voice of the people, to show its sympathy for the 
Hungarian refugees; but, soon afterwards, Lord Lyndhurst and 
Earl Graham proposed the reenaction of the infamous alien act, 
that the freedom granted to these champions of civil liberty might 
be suppressed ! Pillersdorf is a competent witness ; for he was all 
the time a minister, and part of the time prime-minister, at the 
period to which he refers ; and the proposition of the two British 
lords is reported among the published proceedings of the upper 
house of parliament for the 28th of March, 1851. Proh pudor ! 
Such is my respect toward England, that it is mortifying to be 
obliged to record such a fact ! 



23* 



270 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE REBELLION OF THE SCLAVES. 

According to the laws and customs of the kingdom, the 
new ministry, which the Hungarians had at last obtained from 
Austria, could not go into actual service, until the close of the 
existing Diet. The Palatine, therefore, who had been clothed 
with regal authority in the absence of the monarch, appointed 
a Provisional Commission, to which he gave civil and mili- 
tary power, to conduct the administration of the government, 
till the ministers could be qualified in due form. This Com- 
mission consisted of four gentlemen — G-abriel Klauzdl, Berta- 
lan Szemere, Francis Pulsky, and Paul Nydry — whose names 
have since become familiar in other lands.* 

Kossuth and his colleagues, in the mean time, returned to 
their places in the National Assembly; and, in connection 
with the patriotic party, they resumed the task of redeeming 
their country from the condition to which the oppression of 
three centuries had sunk it. As they had not, in consequence 
of the disturbai'ces of the world around them, raised their 
demands on Austria, so, when their long-standing requests 
had been granted, they took no advantage whatever of their 
new position, but went directly forward to caiTy out those 
measures, and those measures only, which had ever been the 
object of their patriotic efforts. 

In 1832, but more distinctly in 1847, when Kossuth be- 
came a candidate for election to the lower House, they had 
published a programme of their principles to the nation. 
Touching their relations to Austria, they emphatically de- 

* Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady, vol. i. p. 112. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 271 

clared, that they asked nothing new. All they wanted, they 
said, was what every Austrian king of Hungary had sworn 
to, with a single exception, since the two countries had been 
united. They wished simply, that the constitution should re- 
main as it had been for more than eight hundred years ; that 
the independence and integrity of the kingdom should be 
maintained ; and that the king should administer the laws, not 
through foreigners, but by the hands of native Hungarians, 
who could be made to feel their responsibility to the people 
over whom they ruled. 

Such were the international politics of this party. Their 
internal, or national, policy was equally liberal and patriotic. 
They set down that policy in a series of brief but explicit 
propositions : 

1. That all the peasants of the kingdom, whatever might 
be their religion or their race, should be at once emancipated 
from all urbarial dues and obligations to their landlords, for 
which the landlords were to receive a just indemnification from 
the state. 

2. That, without exception of religion or of race, all the 
inhabitants of the country, noble and non-noble, should be 
declared equal before the law. 

3. That every inhabitant, whose income amounted to ten 
pounds a year, which would include all persons not vagabonds 
or state-paupers, should be clothed with the edective franchise, 
and thus help make the laws under which they lived, 

4. That every inhabitant, who should have this elective 
franchise, should bear his equal proportion] of the expenses 
of the government, by being taxed according to the value of 
his income. 

5. That the National Assembly, and not the Hungarian 
Chancery at Vienna, should decide on the employment of the 
public revenue. 

6. That the revenue, and other national interests, should 
be put into the hands of a cabinet of native ministers, who 



272 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

should be responsible, not to Austria, but to Hungary, the 
country to which those interests pertained. 

7, That the right of heirs to recover property once sold, by 
what was called aviddie, which was the Hungarian law of 
entail, should be abolished, thus securing the business and 
internal credit of the country against the great land-holders, 
who, under the old laws, could prevent their estates from 
passing out of their families, whatever might be their liabili- 
ties, or however fairly they might have once parted with their 
possessions in payment of their debts.'^ 

Such, indeed, had been the politics of the patriotic party, 
from 1832 to 1847; and the intervening period had been 
spent in preparing the nation to receive them. These were 
the doctrines preached by the blind old Wesselenyi in his 
ceaseless pilgrimages. These were the doctrines which Kos- 
suth had published and defended in the Pesti Hirlap. These 
were the principles which the two leaders of the Hungarian 
patriots had breathed into the breasts of a majority of their 
countrymen. On these the newly-appointed ministers, while 
still holding their places in the National Assembly, again 
planted their feet, resolving to see them enacted into laws, 
before they should be obliged to leave the halls of legislation 
to accept of their respective positions in the cabinet. 

Though, as has just been asserted, a majority of the nation 
was clearly on the side of these democratic measures, they 
met with some opposition in the Diet. Besides the patriots, 
there were two other parties in that body, as well as in the 
kingdom. The magnates, headed by Count Stephen Szech^nyi, 
with all their patriotism, were excessively conservative, wish- 
ing to keep all things exactly as they were, and decidedly un- 
willing to declare for a ministerial separation from Austria, as 
well as still more decidedly opposed to the internal policy of 

^ Blackwood's Magazine, vol. Ixv. p. 628, as well as all the leading 
political periodicals of Amei'ica and Europe for 1848-1849. 



HUNaARY AND KOSSUTH. 278 

the patriots. There was, also, a radical party, in the lead of 
which was the powerful and accomplished Baron Ebtvos, who 
was imbued with the leveling doctrines of the French Social- 
ists. They regarded their country as a tabula rasa — a new- 
born country — whose future was to be made, not from the 
precedents and institutions of the past, but from the ideas and 
aspirations of the present. The patriots, on the other hand, 
under the guidance of Louis Kossuth, seeing that things as 
they were, at that moment, were only the perversion of things 
as they had once been, resolved to recover what was lost, and 
so build up the future, according to present light, on the tried 
and venerated foundations of the past. The struggle between 
these parties, at the time now under consideration, was very 
brief. The eloquence of Kossuth carried every thing before 
him. Not only the Conservatives, but the Radicals, yielded 
to his logic, and declared themselves convinced. Since the 
days of Demosthenes, there has probably not been such a tri- 
umph. Every one of his measures, international and national, 
was sustained in both branches of the Diet. " By unanimous 
votes of both houses, the diet not only established perfect 
equality of civil rights and public burdens among all classes, 
denominations and races in Hungary and its provinces, and 
perfect toleration for every form of religious worship, but, 
with a generosity perhaps unparalleled in the history of na- 
tions, and which must extort the admiration even of those, 
who may question the wisdom of the measure, the nobles of 
Hungary abolished their own right to exact either labor or 
produce in return for the lands held by urbarial tenure, and 
thus transferred to the peasants the absolute ownership, free 
and forever, of nearly half the cultivated land in the kingdom, 
reserving to the original proprietors of the soil such compen- 
sation as the government might award from the public funds 
of Hungary. More than five hundred thousand peasant fami- 
lies were thus invested with the absolute ownership of from 
thirty to sixty acres of land each, or about twenty millions 



274 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

of acres amongst them. The elective franchise was extended 
to every man possessed of capital or property of the value of 
thirty pounds, or an annual income of ten pounds ; to every 
man who had received a diploma from a university ; and to 
every artizan who employed an apprentice. With the concur- 
rence of both countries, Hungary and Transylvania were 
united, and their diets, hitherto separate, were incorporated."^ 
It was enacted, also, that all real estate should be held re- 
sponsible for its owner's debts; that the whole tithing system, 
by which the poor had been so long oppressed, should exist 
no longer ; that the nobles, though they had thus generously 
given away nearly half of all their possessions, should pay 
taxes to the government, according to what remained to them 
after this gift was made ; that the Jewish and all other foreign 
inhabitants should no longer be subject to special legislation, 
but hold the rank and enjoy the rights of other citizens; and 
that eight millions of the public money should be at once ex- 
pended in making such internal improvements as the condition 
of the whole country at that time required. 

' Blackwood's Magazine, vol. Ixv. p. 629. Blackwood, whose po- 
litical articles are written chiefly by Mr. Alison, would be regarded 
as the best of authority on such a question, whatever might be the 
circumstances under which its testimony should be given ; no journal 
in the world is more careful, or more laborious, in collecting and 
collating the facts on which its opinions are founded ; but, in this 
instance, it declares itself to have been in possession of the laws 
themselves, translated from the Hungarian, as they passed the Diet 
of the nation. Blackwood, however, is not alone in this particular. 
Nearly all the other great journals of Europe and America have 
made the same statements on the same authority ; but I have thought 
it best to quote the words of Blackwood, because, in addition to its 
high character, its politics give its declarations a peculiar weight in 
the Hungarian question. No one can accuse it of leaning too far 
toward the popular movements of any country ; and, at the very 
time, when these concessions were made to Hungary, it was pouring 
out its indignation on the general revolutionary spirit of Europe in 
a series of most able and eflfective articles. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 275 

It ought to be particularly remarked, that these blessings 
were not restricted to any district, or to any nationality, of the 
Magyar kingdom, but were freely given to all its inhabitants 
of every race, sect and section. They were given, too, with- 
out requiring any thing to be yielded on the part of any of 
the nationalities. All the nationalities remained exactly as 
they had been. At their capital of Agram, the Sclavic repre- 
sentatives of Sclavonia and Croatia were to continue to as- 
semble, and to transact their provincial business according to 
their old customs. They were still to be represented in the 
National Assembly by their own delegates ; and these, only 
three in number before this period, were not only increased to 
eighteen, by the magnanimity of this most magnanimous of 
all nations, but clothed with powers never enjoyed by them 
since their connection with the kingdom.* 

On the eleventh day of April, after the National Assembly 
had closed its session, all the new enactments of the kingdom 
were laid before his majesty, king Ferdinand. To make them 
laws, they required his royal signature. That signature was 
promptly and emphatically given : " Having graciously listened 
to, and graciously granted the prayers of, our beloved and 
fiiithful dignitaries of the church and of the state, magnates 
and nobles of Hungary and its dependencies, toe ordain, that 
the before-mentioned laws be registered in these presents, word 
for word; and, as we consider these laws and their entire con- 
tents, both separately and collectively, fitting and suitable, we 
give them our consent and approbation. In exercise of our 
royal will, we have accepted, adopted, approved and sanctioned 
them, assuring, at the same time, our faithful states, that we 
will respect the said laws, and cause them to be respected by 
our faithful subjects." Such were the words of Ferdinand, 
signed by his own hand, and countersigned by Batthianyi, 
the Hungarian Prime-Minister just appointed by himself, in 

* Blackwood's Magazine, vol. Ixy. p. 629. 



276 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the presence of the arch-dukes Francis Charles, Stephen, 
Francis Joseph, the present emperor, and of the Hungarian 
deputation, on the eleventh day of April, 1848. The work 
was now done. Kossuth had carried out the patriotic mea- 
sures of his party j and that party, now including nearly every 
inhabitant of the kingdom, could hardly find words by which 
to celebrate the glory of their great leader. 

Never, perhaps, in the progress of sixty centuries, was there 
ever so disinterested a step taken by any nation. The Mag- 
yars, the dominant people of a country, at a time when they 
could have increased instead of relinquishing their hold upon 
their tenants and subject-tribes, gave them all their freedom, 
gave them a perfect equality with themselves, and gave them 
about half of their own possessions in order to render them, 
not only free, but independent. Well might the nation, the 
whole nation, rejoice over such a consummation. The nation 
did rejoice, the whole of it, from Belgrade to Pressburg. 
There was a perfect jubilee throughout the kingdom. All 
the religions, all the tribes, rejoiced together. The Magyars 
rejoiced, as all benefactors do, because they had done such an 
act, and filled so many bosoms with such an unexpected hap- 
piness. The other tribes rejoiced, Sclaves, Germans, Jews 
and Gipsies, as men always do, when they receive great and 
unlooked-for blessings. It was, undoubtedly, a real satisfac- 
tion to these tribes, who had always entertained so unworthy 
opinions of the Magyars, to be now compelled to do them 
justice. " Is it possible," said the Sclavonian, the Sclavack, 
the Croat, the Serb, " that we have so long misunderstood the 
character, and misrepresented the intentions, of our Magyar 
countrymen ? Let us repay them for the wrong with interest I" 
The rich and the poor had their mutual congratulations and 
rejoicings. The landlord went home to his tenants, and told 
them that they were no longer slaves^ that they were his 
equals ; and that, to make their equality worth something to 
them, the land they then cultivated was no longer his, but 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 277 

theirs, which they could own, occupy, and then transmit to 
their descendants. The peasants, on hearing this strange 
news, leaped for joy, and,, in a transport of gratitude, kissed 
the hands and necks of their former masters. There was joy 
in Hungary ; and the Magyars, who had before reigned as the 
superior race, in mental and military qualities, now reigned in 
the hearts of their countrymen by virtue of a moral superiority. 
The individual Magyar, wherever he appeared, was sure to 
hear his praise from the lips of all the other peoples ; and the 
Sclaves of the south of Hungary, in particular, sent a nume- 
rous delegation of their tribe to thank the Blagyar nation for 
its unbounded and unparalleled magnanimity. Such had Hun- 
gary become under the legislative management of Kossuth. 

No sooner, however, were these things done, while the accla- 
mations of the people were still echoing from the Drave to 
the Carpathians, than the old and wicked policy of Austria 
was again set in motion. Metternich, as has been shown, had 
kept the empire in subjection to the imperial despot, by rous- 
ing the mutual jealousies of the races, thus rendering it im- 
possible for them to unite against their common tyrant. The 
same instrument of distraction was again employed. Amidst 
all the commotion of the Austrian revolution, in which Bo- 
hemia and Italy had heartily united, while the citizens were 
revolutionary and democratic, the soldiers had generally re- 
mained conservative and monarchical. The army, therefore, 
served as the basis for the re-establishment of the old policy ; 
and a great part of the Austrian standing forces were the 
soldier-citizens of the ]Military District, lying along the entire 
south of Hungary, peopled by the Sclavonians, Croats, Serbs 
and Wallachians, whose ignorance is unbounded, and whose 
national prejudices are the most easily excited. The Sclavic 
delegation, who had expressed the gratitude of the Sclavic 
tribes to their Magyar benefactors, had scarcely returned to 
their places of residence, when the emissaries of the Austrian 

party began to swarm through Sclavonia and Croatia, busily 

2i 



278 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

engaged, like so many fiends from the world of darkness, in 
reviving the dissensions of the races. " Do not be deceived/' 
they said, "with these fair pretences. The Magyars are your 
old enemies. They conquered you in battle. They look upon 
you as a subject people. This great act, which you now 
blindly celebrate, is nothing but a trick against you. It is 
the beginning of a work of centralization, by which they in- 
tend to unite all the races of Hungary, it is true, but only for 
their own advantage. They wish you to give up your nation- 
ality, to forget it altogether, that they may the more easily 
establish their own. They intend to blot you from existence. 
If you want proof of this, whatever they have done in other 
respects, you have the evidence in their decrees about your 
language. Your mother tongue has been abolished. You are 
all of you compelled to become Magyars, by forgetting the 
dialect of your fathers, and learning and employing the speech 
of your so-called benefactors. Singular benefactors ! They 
wish to effect your annihilation ; and you, Croats, Sclavonians, 
Serbs, are so blind as to be led willingly and even thankfully 
to the sacrifice I" 

Such were the wily falsehoods scattered all over the south- 
ern provinces by the party of the imperial court. That very 
man, who had just "accepted, adopted, approved and sanc- 
tioned" the late laws, pronouncing them "fitting and suitable," 
and promising to respect them himself and to "cause them to 
be respected," was now secretly engaged in crushing those 
laws by the most malicious, dangerous, and wicked of all 
methods. The only truth, on which all these aggravating 
complaints were founded, was a former law respecting the use 
of the Hungarian language ; and, to make that of any service 
in the hands of the imperial agitators, its true character had 
to be misrepresented. The tribes of the south had not been 
forbidden to use their vernacular tongue. They were expressly 
allowed and encouraged to use it. Not only in their schools 
and families, and in all business transactions, but in their pro- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 279 

vincial legislature, the Sclavic was to be the legal language. 
It was to be the medium of their private legislation. The 
laws of the National Assembly, also, when published within 
their borders, were always to be accompanied by a Sclavic 
translation for their special benefit. The only restriction was, 
that, in a court of justice, or when used in a judicial manner, 
the Hungarian original of the laws should be the legal stand- 
ard of their meaning. This legal authority had to be con- 
ferred upon the original, or upon the translation, as there could 
not be two standards ; and whether the original, or a copy, of 
any public or private document, is best entitled to this pre- 
eminence, can never be made a question. 

Another old regulation, however, respecting the legal lan- 
guage, was prominently set forth on this occasion. In 1832 
a law had been enacted, making the Hungarian the only lan- 
guage to be employed in the future sessions of the National 
Assembly. Before that time, the Diet had been a babel, where 
Latin, G-erman, Sclavic and Slagyar were mingled with the 
most embarrassing confusion. The speeches, it is true, had 
been generally delivered in the Latin, or in German. The 
one was a dead language. The other was the language of an- 
other nation. The Diet of 1832 resolved to correct this 
anomaly. In doing so, could the Magyars be expected to 
choose, as the language of their own legislature, one of the 
dialects of their Sclavic countrymen? The Magyar was 
spoken by twice as many people as used either of those other 
dialects ; for, it must be remembered, that the Sclavacks of 
the north, the Serbs of the east, and the Sclavonians and 
Croats of the south of Hungary, speak their respective patois, 
which differ essentially from each other. The Magyar lan- 
guage, therefore, was judiciously and justly established as the 
legal and legislative language of the Magyar nation. But the 
agents of Austria fastened upon this provision as another text 
from which to preach dissension. Their success was the firsfc 
source of a fierce and bloody insurrection. 



280 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The Serbs, so lately full of gratitude to the Hungarians, 
and ever before the allies of the patriotic party in the National 
Assembly, were thus separated from their Magyar protectors. 
They began to manifest unpleasant feelings about the first 
days of June. By the middle of the month, they had as- 
sembled in great numbers, at the call of their archbishop, 
Rajachich, at their capital of Karlowicz, at Perlasz, and at 
several other towns. The seat of the excitement was in the 
Banat, where the Austrian emperor held large landed posses- 
sions, and where his personal influence was consequently great. 
From the Banat, it spread into the Bacs county, and into the 
eastern parts of Sclavonia. The archbishop assembled the 
leading members of the Servian aristocracy at Karlowicz, 
whom he formed into what he called the Central Committee 
of the Servian Nation, which undertook to manage the tem- 
pest raised between the Serbs and Magyars. They drew up a 
paper, entitled the Demands of the Servian People, which 
they forwarded to Pesth by an angry delegation. The Hun- 
garians, and particularly the patriotic party, were overwhelmed 
with astonishment. They might easily have crushed this 
budding rebellion ; but they soon perceived the origin of these 
new feelings. They saw that a common enemy had been sow- 
ing discord. They pitied, much more than they blamed, their 
Servian countrymen. They hoped that a little delay, giving 
time for mutual intercourse and explanations, would open the 
eyes and cool the passions of the Serbs. They were mistaken. 
There were influences at work of which they little dreamed. 
The Serbs went forward with their unnatural hostilities to their 
friends. Joined by bands of Servian Turks, they rose in all 
their villages upon their Magyar fellow-citizens, rushed into 
the neighboring Magyar country, burnt the Magyar towns, 
massacred the Magyar inhabitants, and committed such cruel- 
ties as had not been seen in Hungary for many generations. 
As they advanced in their horrid work, their barbarities be- 
came more and more atrocious. Old men, tottering with age, 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 281 

were murdered in cold blood. Matrons, wliile quietly engaged 
in their domestic duties, were cut down by the side of their 
infant children. Children, snatched from their little beds, 
where they were softly sleeping, were dashed to pieces and 
thrown in piles upon the dead bodies of their parents. Preg- 
nant women were ripped open with the Turkish knife j and 
the unripe fruit of their wombs were trampled beneath the 
coarse feet of the brutal murderers. The wife and daughters 
of thousands of families, after being compelled to receive the 
revolting embraces of a whole company of savages, were hacked 
and mangled by the swords of the soldiers, then cast upon the 
heap of their immolated kindred. Not only the villages, but 
the fields and flocks of the unprepared and unresisting in- 
habitants, were destroyed by tkese infatuated rebels. The 
voice of lamentation was spread over many districts. A cold 
shudder convulsed the Magyar nation. 

While these scenes were being enacted in the east, the 
southern portion of the kingdom was undergoing a change, 
and putting itself into a hostile attitude. The Sclaves of 
Croatia and Sclavonia had always been, as before stated, the 
dupes of Metternich. He had made them his special instru- 
ments, for a whole generation, against the dreaded consolida- 
tion of the kingdom ; and the thousand suspicions of IMagyar 
superiority, which he had lodged in their bosoms, still re- 
mained there, after all that the Hungarians had done to dis- 
abuse them. In a period of general distraction, when the 
most liberal and enlightened scarcely knew their interest, or 
their duty, these people, so long corrupted and misled, were 
ready to be an easy prey to some artful and ambitious leader. 
Such a leader was now among them. The Baron Joseph 
Jellachich, the personage referred to, a Croatian by birth, had 
been the colonel of a Croat regiment in the army of Italy. 
Possessed by nature of an honest-looking face, and remarkable 
for the dignity of his deportment and tho insinuating style of 
his address, he had been chosen by the friends of the fallen 

24* 



282 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



monarcty as a fit person to raise disturbances in the south of 
Hungary to the injury of the emancipated nation. The em- 
peror, at the advice of the Austrian party at home, who were 
in constant communication with their countrymen in Italy, 
appointed the colonel to be Ban, or Lord, of his native land. 
This office gave him supreme command within the limits of 
his province. His first act was to forbid the magistrates of 
Croatia from having any intercourse with the Hungarian 
ministry, saying, that his countrymen ought to resist the new 
state of things in Hungary ; that, as soon as they should be- 
come fully aware of the intentions of the Magyars, there 
would be resistance ; and that an open revolt would be, nay 
was then, encouraged by the king. This doctrine he circu- 
lated, by letters and by personal conversation, all over Croatia 
and Sclavonia. The people began to believe what he said. 
But there were other things, which the Ban now openly 
avowed, but which he had not been employed to say. Though 
acting ostensibly with the imperial party, who were doing 
every thing in their power to bring on a reaction in favor of 
the old monarchy, he was secretly working in concert with the 
Bohemian rebellion, the object of which was to set up a Sclavie 
government in that ancient and once independent kingdom. 
While the cause of the Bohemians was in its most promising 
condition, they had proclaimed to the world their intention of 
reorganizing the empire, so soon as they should become vic- 
torious, on a Sclavie basis; and they had sent forth a warm 
invitation to all the Sclaves of Southern Europe, to all of their 
tribe, indeed, not included in the Russian empire, to join in 
one grand and universal movement for the establishment of a 
Sclavie nationality and independence. This was one of the 
influences, which had acted so powerfully upon the Serbs, and 
which the Hungarians at first did not fully understand. The 
Serbs had not blindly lifted up the banner of the universal 
Sclavie nationality. . Jellachich, from the beginning of their 
rebellion, had privately encouraged them to proceed. He 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 2hti 

wished to prove, at their expense, at least by their instru- 
mentality, whether the Sclavic mind was ready for the great 
work proposed. His own course was to be shaped by the re- 
sult. In a letter dated the 4th of June, and addressed to the 
frontier regiments stationed in Italy, he declared, that the im- 
perial family, though he does not mention the emperor by 
name, encouraged the Servian revolt. The Serbs themselves 
professed to be fighting the battles of their king. 

The Hungarian ministers, before the insurrection of the 
Serbs broke out, had been watching the movements of the 
Ban. They were fully aware of his ambition, of his duplicity, 
and of his real leanings, whatever might be his present bear- 
ing toward the imperial cause. They knew him to be, in 
heart and in life, a Sclave. They knew him to be, at that 
time, as at all times, opposed to the Grermanr as well as to the 
Hungarian party. They knew that, should he ever see his 
opportunity, he would break with the imperialists and desert 
to the standard of his Bohemian friends. The true character 
and position of the Ban was, therefore, correctly reported to 
the emperor. The emperor was convinced, that, in this 
treacherous movement in his own behalf, he was placing too 
much confidence, and lodging too much power, in the hands 
of one, who might turn out to be as double as himself. On 
the 29th of May, just as the Serbs were beginning to assemble, 
Ferdinand dispatched an autograph letter to Jellachich, sum- 
moning him to appear at Innspruck to answer to his monarch 
for his recent conduct. He was to answer, indeed, for that 
very course of action, which he had been commissioned to 
pursue ; but, though his acts had been clearly within the letter 
of his instructions, his motives, his ulterior designs, were the 
subjects of complaint. A man's motives, however, when his 
actions cannot be objected to, can be positively appreciated 
only by himself; and the Ban, in the case before us, had only 
to deny the charge of Pansclavism, as the enterprise of Bo- 
hemia was denominated, to free himself from the anger of his 



284 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

monarch. It is easy enough to imagine what sort of a con- 
ference would have been held, had the Ban obeyed the call, 
between Jellachich and Ferdinand. "Have you done any 
thing more, my dear Ban, than to raise the old jealousies of 
the Serbs against the Magyars?" "Nothing." "But the 
Serbs have been too much excited, and may carry their part 
too far, which will be likely to rouse the sympathies of other 
nations in favor of the Hungarians V " This they will do, 
then, on their own responsibility, without my instructions." 
"And you are now raising a rebellion in Croatia and Sclavonia, 
on the Sclavic basis." . " Well, may it please your majesty, 
this was the only basis, on which a rebellion could be raised, 
at this particular time, when the fortunes of the monarchy are 
so low." " But they tell me you are doing it in aid of your 
brethren of Bohemia, who have elevated the Pansclavic stand- 
ard, and invited their race throughout Europe to join them in 
their attempt." "May it please your imperial majesty, the 
insinuation against my honor is entirely groundless ; and so 
long as my outward acts correspond exactly with my secret 
instructions, my motives ought to be considered good." Such, 
undoubtedly, would have been the substance of the conversa- 
tion at that time to have been held between the double-minded 
monarch and his equally double-minded man. Both were 
traitors ; ajid each knew the other to be acting false. There 
could have been, therefore, no certain confidence between them. 
The Ban would have left the king, determined not to break 
with the crown, so long as there was a doubt, whether, in the 
reconstruction of the empire, the Germans or the Sclaves 
would rule. The king would have dismissed his servant, re- 
solved to watch him narrowly, and settle his own future course 
by what his eyes should see. 

A few days were enough, though the conference was not 
then held, to point out to the monarch, or to his familiar ad- 
visers, what policy he should outwardly pursue. He was still 
the nominal king of Hungary. It would not then do for him 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTIT. 285 

to encourage one portion of his kingdom to carry on a civil 
war against another portion. This would be the king rebel- 
ling against the king. No^ would it then do for the emperor 
of Austria to make war upon his Magyar crown. Such a 
proceeding would not only excite the Hungarians to rebellion, 
but so compromise his imperial character, that he might en- 
danger the recovery of the empire, on any basis, whatever 
might be the success of the particular duplicity in which he 
was then engaged. An open opposition to the movements of 
the Ban was called for, as much by his present interests, as 
by the appeals of the Hungarian ministers. J'he call was 
made and answered. He denounced Jellachich as a traitor, 
removed him from all his dignities and offices, and forbade the 
people of Croatia and Sclavonia from paying any obedience to 
his commands. 

The imperial manifesto was issued on the 10th of June. 
Every word of it is a clear and unanswerable defence of the 
Magyars against the rebellious Sclaves : " You, Croatians and 
Sclavonians ! who, united to the crown of Hungary for eight 
centuries, have shared all the fates of this country ; you, 
Croatians and Sclavonians ! who owe to this very union the 
constitutional freedom, which alone, amongst all Sclavonic 
nations, you have been enabled to preserve ; you have disap- 
pointed our hopes — you, who not only have shared in all the 
rights and liberties of the Hungarian constitution, but who 
besides — in just recompense of your loyalty, until now stain- 
lessly preserved — were lawfully endowed with peculiar rights, 
privileges and liberties, by the grace of our illustrious ances- 
tors, and who, therefore, possess greater privileges than any of 
the subjects of our sacred Hungarian crown. 

" You have disappointed our hopes, to whom the last Diet 
of the kingdom of Hungary and its dependencies, according 
to our sovereign will, granted full part in all the benefits of 
the enlarged constitutional liberties and equality of rights. 
The legislation of the crown of Hungary has abolished feudal 



28G HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

servitude in Croatia as well as in Hungary ; and those amongst 
you, wlio were subject to robot, have, without any sacrifice on 
their part, become free projyrietors. The landed proprietors 
receive for their loss an indemnification, which your own means 
could never have provided. That indemnification will be en- 
tailed on our Hungarian crown estates, with our sovereign 
ratification, and without any charge to you. 

" The right also of constitutional representation was extended 
to the people in your case no less than in Hungary ; in conse- 
quence of which no longer the nobility alone, but likewise the 
other inhabitants and the Military Frontier, take part by their 
representatives in the legislation common to all, as much as 
in the municipal congregations. Thus, you may improve your 
welfare by your immediate co-operation. Until now, the no- 
bility contributed but little to the public expenses; hence- 
forward, the proportional repartition of the taxes amongst all 
inhabitants is lawfully established, whereby you have been 
delivered from a great burden. Your nationality and muni- 
cipal rights, relative to which vain and malicious reports have 
been spread, with the aim of exciting your distrust, are by no 
means in danger. On the contrary, boiji i/our nationality and 
your municipal rights are enlarged and secured against all 
encroachments ; not only is the use of your native language 
latcfully guaranteed to you for ever in your schools and 
churches, but it is likewise introduced into the public assem- 
blies, where the Latin language has been until now in use." 

The royal document proceeds to demonstrate the magna- 
nimity of the Hungarians respecting the nationality of the 
Croatians and Sclavonians, by citing the acts of the National 
Assembly for eight hundred years, and then advances to an- 
other topic: "Formerly, in Hungary and its dependencies, 
we administered the executive powers by our Hungarian 
Chancery and Home Office, and, in military concerns, by our 
Council of War. To the orders issued in this way, the Bans 
of Croatia, Dalmatia and Sclavonia were obedient, just as they 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 287 

wore bound, in more remote times, to obey the orders of our 
Hungarian authorities, issued in a different manner and in 
different forms, according to the mode of administering our 
executive power." The king then goes on to say, that, with 
the advice of Hungary, he had appointed the Palatine as his 
lord-lieutenant, clothed with regal authority, to whom the king- 
dom was to pay the same obedience as to the king's person. 
Jellachich, however, had not done this; for, in being sum- 
moned to Pesth to answer for his conduct to Ferdinand's 
representative, he had refused to obey the mandate. He had 
refused, also, to appear before the emperor himself. This, of 
course, was open and avowed rebellion. The position of the 
Ban could be disguised no longer. The monarch, therefore, 
as a public vindication of himself, was compelled to close his 
manifesto with a renunciation of all the late acts of Jellachich, 
besides removing him from his lordship : "No other means 
was left, to protect our royal authority against the injury of 
such conduct, and to uphold the laws, than to send our faith- 
ful Privy-Councillor, Lieutenant Field-SIarshal Hrabowszky, 
as our royal commissioner, to inquire into those unlawful pro- 
ceedings, and to indict the Baron Jellachich and his accom- 
plices; and, lastly, to deprive the Baron Jellachich of his 
dignity as Ban, and of all his military offices."* 

The Ban, thus legally deposed, continued to hold his power, 
though the Croatians and Sclavonians, his subjects, had ever 
been renowned for their servility to the king. They were 
now, however, no longer Austrians, as they dreamed, but 
Sclaves. A new empire, as they thought, on a Sclavic foun- 
dation, was about to be raised on the ruins of the German. 
The old German emperor, therefore, to whom they had always 
before been so obedient, was now of less consequence to them, 
than the great military leader, Jellachich, who, without doubt, 
was soon to hold a high place in the nationality about to be 

' Klapka's War in Iliingary, vol. ii. pp. 227-237. 



288 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

constructed. The Germans; even in the German empire, were 
few in number, a majority of whom, at that time, were in 
strong opposition to the German throne. The Magyars, how- 
ever, were still loyal. They were, also, firm in their princi- 
ples, strong in their attachments, and absolutely unyielding to 
their enemies. They must be put out of the way. There 
were Sclaves enough about them, could they be induced to 
rise, to annihilate the race and blot it from the world. They 
were surrounded, even in their own country, on all sides by 
Sclaves. Beyond the limits of the kingdom, the Bohemian 
Sclaves on the west, the Russian Sclaves on the north, the 
Servian Sclaves on the east, and the Croatian and other Sclaves 
on the south and south-west, could all be relied on, it was sup- 
posed, to aid their kindred in Hungary the moment they should 
appear in arms. A constant correspondence, with this unity 
of movement all the while in view, was kept up between the 
Sclavic revolutionists of every land. Messengers were sent 
into every part of Hungary, who were secretly to inform the 
various Sclavic tribes of the general plan, and to induce them, 
on a given signal, to revolt. This signal was to be, as we 
now know, the invasion of the Magyars by the Croatian Ban. 
The Hungarians, however, began to see their danger. So 
little are they inclined to suspicion, so open and manly are 
they in their own conduct, that they were slow to attribute all 
this treachery and ingratitude to a people, whom they had 
always treated well. That the king had any connection with 
the original rebellion of the Ban they would not believe ; and 
the false-hearted monarch was careful to take every course to 
make them, and to keep them, blind. His manifesto against 
Jellachich, which was a part of his double game, was soon 
followed by a pro-royal speech, in which the duplicity of the 
sovereign is studiously maintained. It was the speech de- 
livered by the great Palatine, whose sentiments were dictated 
by Ferdinand, as the document itself declares. It was pro- 
nounced before the new National Assembly, which, on the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 289 

basis of universal suffrage, had been called together by the 
king to take into consideration the revolt of the Serbs, the 
rebellious attitude of Croatia and Sclavonia, and the threaten- 
ing aspect of the times : " In the name, and as the representa- 
tive, of our glorious king, Ferdinand the Fifth, I hereby open 
this parliament. The extraordinary circumstances, in which 
the country has been placed, make it necessary to summon at 
once a meeting of the estates, without waiting for the comple- 
tion in detail of all the propositions and administrative mea- 
sures, which the responsible ministers of the crown were 
charged and directed by the last parliament to prepare and 
complete. Croatia has risen in undisguised sedition. In the 
districts of the lower Danube, bands of armed rebels have 
broken the peace of the country ; and while it is the sincere 
wish of his majesty to avoid a civil ivar, his majesty is, on 
the other hand, convinced, that the assembled representatives 
of the nation will regard it as their first and chief duty to 
provide all the means required for restoring the troubled tran- 
quillity of the country, preserving the integrity of the Hunganan 
realm, and maintaining the sacred inviolahility of the law. 
The defence of the country and the state of the finances will, 
therefore, form the chief subject to which, under these extra- 
ordinary circumstances, I call the attention of the assembled 
representatives. His majesty's responsible ministers will sub- 
mit to you propositions relating to these points. His majesty 
trusts, that the representatives of the nation will adopt speedy 
and appropriate decisions upon all matters connected with the 
safety and welfare of the country. His majesty has learned, 
with deep feelings of regret and displeasure — although he, in 
his hearty paternal desire for the happiness of this country, 
following solely the impulse of his own desire, sanctioned 
during the last parliament, by giving to them his royal assent, 
those laws which were necessary to the progress of the coun- 
try to prosperity — yet that, especially in Croatia and on the 
lower Danube, evil-minded rebellious agitators have excited 
• 25 



290 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH, 

the inhabitants of those countries, speaking different languages 
and holding different creeds, \yith false reports and terrorism 
to mutual hostility, and have driven them, under the calum- 
nious representation that those laws were not then sanctioned 
by his majesty's own free will, to oppose the said laws and 
the legal authorities — that some have even gone so far in re- 
bellion as to announce that their violent resistance to the said 
decrees is for the good of the royal house, and that his majesty 
is privy to their intentions. For the tranquillization of the 
inhabitants of those districts, of all tongues and creeds, I 
therefore hereby declare, under the special commission of his 
most gracious majesty, our lord the king, in his name and as 
his representative, that his majesty is firmly resolved to exert 
his royal power for the maintenance of the integrity and in- 
violability of his crown against all attacks from abroad, and 
against all discord within the realm, and to assert and enforce, 
at all times, the laws he shall have sanctioned. And as his 
majesty will allow no one to curtail the freedom, assured by 
the said laws, to the inhabitants of the kingdom, his majesty 
expresses his displeasure with the daring conduct of those, who 
venture to assert, that an^ illegal act, or disoledience to the 
law, can have taken place with his majesty s hwioledge, or in 
the interest of his royal house. "^ 

Such was the language of the fallen despot, when he had 
reason to suppose, that his own agent had turned a traitor to 
his cause. The National Assembly, not yet prepared to charge 
their monarch with such deep duplicity, took him at his word. 
An adequate recruitment was at once voted. A heavy appro- 
priation was made to defray the civil and military expenses 
about to be incurred. As the royal commissioner, Hrabowszky, 
himself a Serb, had not been able to convince his countrymen 
of their mistake, there was no alternative but to put down 
war with war. It was hoped, however, that, after a few de- 

* Klapka's AVar in Hungary, vol. ii. pp. 237-241. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 291 

feats, the misguided rebels would be more susceptible of being 
brought to terms. It was with the utmost reluctance that 
Hungary, so recently emancipated from a foreign tyranny, and 
so heartily and enthusiastically occupied with her popular re- 
forms, could be compelled to shed the first drop of blood. 
She had hoped, that, by giving equal rights to all her inhabit- 
ants, she would infallibly satisfy them all. She had hoped, 
that, instead of the calamities of war, her people would now 
rise up and go forward in a united career of peace, prosperity 
and joy. She had hoped to see, in the place of armies, schools 
and churches springing up over all the land, and, instead of 
hostile vessels, fleets of commercial steam-ships ascending and 
descending all her streams. Instead of the tramp and neigh- 
ing of the war-horse, she had hoped to behold the rail-road 
locomotive, harnessed to its train of carriages and guided by 
the hand of man, rushing around every hill and over every 
valley, rampant only with the lofty duties of its mission, and 
shouting the advent of a new and peaceful dispensation to tlie 
capitals of every province and to the people of every tribe. 
But she was lamentably deceived. The Sclavie excitement 
was growing every hour of her delay. Jellachich, the double 
agent of the Austrians and Sclaves, was perplexing the south- 
ern provinces more and more. At length, when a longer en- 
durance would have been the worst of cruelty to all concerned, 
the soldiers of the nation were sent down toward the seat of 
the rebellion to quench its flames. They found a large dis- 
trict of country, occupied jointly, by Magyars and Serbs, suf- 
fering from cruelties scarcely paralleled in the annals of the 
world. The fields were entirely devastated. The homes of 
the people were leveled to the ground. A thousand fires, not 
yet extinguished, were sending their columns of smoke, from 
every plain, hill-side and valley, into the over-loaded air. The 
most awful and revolting spectacles, of barbarities executed 
upon the Magyar citizens, met them to whatever part they 
turned. The Serbs, exceeding all that is known of the worst 



^92 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

of savages, had "bored out the eyes of men, cut off their 
flesh in strips, roasted them alive on spits, buried them up to 
their necks, and so left them to be eaten up by crows and 
swine I" But history need not blot itself with the record of 
such things. What is omitted is too horrible for the most 
indulgent page.'' 

The Hungarian soldiers, thougb fearfully excited by what 
they saw, were under instructions, emanating from the cabinet, 
of which Kossuth was now more than ever chief, to proceed 
with moderation in their treatment of the Serbs. The rebels 
were still regarded by the ministers, as well as by the National 
Assembly, as a misguided people, whom, it was hoped, a duo 
mixture of clemency with the necessary punishment might 
yet restore to their former friendliness and faith. Numerous 
battles were foiight, before Hhe autumn had expired, in which 
the Servians were almost uniformly put to rout. Several of 
the ablest military leaders then in Hungary, among whom 
were Meszaros, Vetter, Kiss, Damjanics and Perczel, were 
employed against the insurgents. The victories of Szoreg, 
Verbasz, Torokecse, Ernesthdaa, Tomasovacz, Temerin, Per- 
lasz, Foldvar, Kikinda, Turia and Tittel, should have taught 
a useful lesson to the Serbs. But they were not prepared to 
learn. Their prompter professed to know the designs of the 
Pansclavic party in all parts of Europe ; and he was liberal of 
his promises of an ultimate and powerful support. Huxban, 
and the apostate Hungarian magnate, Count Moritz Palffy, 
aided by such men as Hodsha and Stur, a priest and a school- 
master, were in the north of Hungary, exciting the Selavacks 
against their Magyar countrymen, and preaching the doctrines 
of the great Sclavie nationality. The Selavacks, however, 

' Pragay (in his Hungarian Struggle for Freedom, p. 11,) affirms, 
" on his conscience," that such scenes occurred; but he need not 
have made the affirmation; for the newspapers of that date (July 
and August, 1848) were full of worse barbarities than he has seen 
fit to mention in his work. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 293 

could not be seduced. " Tlie Magyars," they said, " have 
done every thing that could be done, by voluntarily resigning 
their hereditary rights and power into the hands of all the 
people, without distinctions of sect or race, for the general 
good. No purposes whatever could induce them to abuse such 
unprecedented generosity; and, though Sclaves, they were 
particularly opposed to any Sclavic establishment, under the 
shadow of the Eussian empire, at whose despotic nod such an 
establishment would have to cower and be a slave. No. The 
Magyars have laid the foundation of all the freedom that any 
tribe, or any religion, can maintain. Upon this foundation, 
as brothers and friends, let us together build, thankful to that 
noble race by whose magnanimity we have the opportunity to 
be free." Still, though this ill success was discouraging to 
the Sclavic party, and particularly to Jellachich and the de- 
luded Serbs, the rebellion in the Banat spread both east and 
west, till the Wallachians of Transylvania and the inhabitants 
of Croatia and Sclavonia, at the instigation of the party of the 
Ban, rose in arms.^ 

By the beginning of September, 1848, the time for the 
double-minded Jellachich had fairly come. The question had 
been decided, whether, in the reconstruction of the empire, 
the Sclaves or the Germans were to be in the ascendant. A 
wonderful reaction, or series of reactions, in opposition to 
democracy, had everywhere taken place. Taking its origin 
in Italy, where the revolutions themselves began, it had spread 
like a crystalization from one country to another, till all Eu- 
rope was governed by its influence. The flight of the pope 
had weakened the power of the patriots, by rousing that re- 
spect toward the head of the Church, which, with all its demo- 
cratic enthusiasm, is found at last to have been laid, by habit 
and education, at the bottom of every Roman breast. In 
France, the cowardly insurrection of the Socialists, and the 



* Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady, vol. i. pp. 145-147. 

25* 



294 UUNQARY AND TCOSSUTO. 

horrible butclieries of Paris, Lad taught the nation to fear, 
that the deeds of Robespierre and of Danton might soon be 
repeated, should the so-called republicanism of the times be 
allowed to have its way. In England, the masterly disposi- 
tions of the Duke of Wellington, for the defence of the king- 
dom, whatever occasion for military interposition might arise, 
had taken the color from the cheek of every Chartist, and 
given poor Ireland a warning which she was sure to heed. In 
Prussia, under the wing of Russian protection, the troops of 
the king had marched into Berlin playing the old airs of the 
monarchy, formed a circle around the forces of the insurgents, 
and coolly loaded their arms within thirty paces of their oppo- 
nents, thus deciding the fate of the Prussian revolution by one 
bold and successful step. In Austria, the ministry of June, 
of which Bach was the leading spirit, by coining a few popular 
maxims, such as " the equality of the rights of all nationali- 
ties," and " the democratic empire on the largest basis," had 
not only recovered the ground lost by the good-natured des- 
potism of the cabinet of Pillersdorf, but broken the unity of 
the Sclavic party, and captivated many of the revolutionary 
Germans. The quarrel in the Constituent Assembly, at 
Vienna, between the high and the low democrats, had greatly 
demoralized the republican movement. The high democrats, 
who were chiefly Selaves from Bohemia, Grallicia and Moravia, 
denounced the idea of a senate in the projected republic, as- 
serting, that such a body would only be a nest of aristocrats, 
but really apprehensive of falling in the scale of political 
influence, because they were conscious of having but few men 
capable of commanding a place in a house, where great talents 
and some respectability of rank would be held in consideration. 
The low democrats, who were almost entirely Grcrmans, while 
they advocated the establishment of free institutions with 
great ardor, were more moderate in their ambition, and were 
willing to set up such a government as would offer some en- 
couragement to intellectual and moral pre-eminence, and some 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 295 

ctance of consolation to fallen greatness. The Sclaves, how- 
ever, had finally been humbled. Windischgrats, by his 
memorable achievements in Bohemia, had revived the hope 
of the imperialists, that the old order of the government 
would ultimately be restored. In Lombardy, where the revo- 
lutionists had been triumphant for several months, under the 
banners of Charles Albert, the veteran Radetsky, by the 
splendid victory of Custozza, had laid down a solid and re- 
liable foundation on which again to raise the dynasty of the 
Hapsburgs. That dynasty, from all these turns of fortune, 
had resumed so much courage, that, on the 7th of August, 
the timid and imbecile Ferdinand had ventured back to his 
imperial capital, and once more taken possession of his palace. 
On the 4th of September the emperor dispatched a letter 
to the Ban, written by his own hand, in which he repudiated 
the edict of deposition. The letter was immediately printed 
in the Sclavic and German papers and published to the world. 
The Magyars would not credit what seemed plain enough to 
all other men. They would not believe that Ferdinand could 
be so glaringly double, as to command them to raise an army 
against Jellachich, and, at the same time, support Jellachich 
against themselves. They regarded this imperial letter as a 
forgery, got up by the Ban to gain him influence at home, and 
to weaken the opposition to him abroad. That they might be 
certain, however, of the mind of their royal master, they sent, 
on the 8th of September, a large and weighty delegation to 
him, desiring him to make to them such explanations as the 
contradictory character of his attitude required. The king 
was taciturn, evasive, and perplexed. The deputies were un- 
satisfied. They were, indeed, dissatisfied. Their report threw 
the new ministry into confusion. The cabinet seemed to have 
lost the confidence of their monarch. All but two of them 
resigned at once. Kossuth and Szemere, not daunted by this 
strange posture of afi"airs, resolved, at the request of the Na- 
tional Assembly, to remain in power. Kossuth was more 



296 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

popular than ever. Every thing was coming out exactly as 
he had all the while predicted. From the very beginning, ho 
had told the nation, that the weak but wily Hapsburg would 
betray them when he could. His conservative colleagues, and 
the court-party in the kingdom, had disbelieved him. The 
radicals had believed, but their faith had made them only the 
more insane against all monarchy, and particularly against all 
connection with the king. Kossuth, standing upon his mode- 
rate and middle ground, declared his resolution of adhering 
to the sovereign in all his legal acts, and of abandoning him 
only when it should become absolutely impossible at the same 
time to acknowledge his allegiance and to serve his native 
land. He was at once commissioned by the National As- 
sembly, in conjunction with Szemere, to exercise the power 
and transact the business of the nation. ^ 

Jellachich could no longer be undecided. Ready, from the 
first, to espouse the cause of either party, so soon as he should 
be assured whether the G-ermans or the Sclaves would probably 
be victorious, he now saw, that the Sclavic movement was for- 
ever lost, and that, if he was to have any place in the govern- 
ment about to be restored, he must do something, and that 
speedily, worthy of his ambition. His measures were at once 
taken. Still holding the personal command, in spite of his 
deposition, of about forty thousand Serbs, Croats and Scla- 
vonians, whom he continued to delude with his theory of a 
Sclavic empire, he had begun to make active preparations, 
about the last of August, for some sudden undertaking. No 
one knew exactly what feat he meditated. The eyes of all 
Austria were upon him. The Hungarians watched him with 
intense interest. The mystery was soon settled. On the 9 th 



* Klapka's War in Hungary, vol. i. Hist. Intr. pp. 66-68. Madam 
Pulsky (Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. i. pp. 130-140) gives a detailed ac- 
count of the audience between the emperor and the deputation. She 
was an eye-witness. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 297 

of September, at the head of his own forces, and newly com- 
missioned by his monarch, he crossed the Drave and planted 
his hostile foot upon that portion of Hungary, which, by uni- 
versal consent, has ever been the peculiar territory of the 
Magyar nation. He was here reinforced by six divisions of 
Austrian regulars from the Styrian garrisons. The Rubicon 
was now passed. The banner of the Sclavonic and Croatian 
rebellion was at last raised. The rebel chief, finding the 
Hungarians unprepared, with fifteen thousand of his troops, 
marched from town to town, without meeting with opposition, 
burning, murdering and destroying, till he had approached 
within a few miles of Pesth. Another corps, under the Aus- 
trian general, Hartmann, according to instructions received 
from Vienna, proceeded by Jharos, Bereny and Kaposvd,r, and 
joined the Ban at Engeny. A third corps, commanded by 
general Rott, another Austrian, remained as a reserve in 
Sclavonia, to maintain the rebellious attitude of the province, 
but were expected to follow the gros of the' army, should their 
services be required. 

To meet this insurrection, to defend their houses and their 
hearths, the Hungarians had only about five thousand men. 
The main body of their gallant little army were acting against 
the Serbs. No sooner, however, was it proclaimed through 
the country, that the traitor, Jellachich, had invaded the soil 
of Hungary, than the nation showed a readiness to rise. The 
Ban had asserted, that, on the day when a Sclavic army should 
unfurl its standard in the kingdom, three-fifths of the inhabit- 
ants would fly to it for protection against their domestic foe. 
Presumptuous and vain remark ! Not a Sclave, beyond the 
direct influence of the invading force, deserted from his coun- 
try's cause. The constitutional liberties of the nation, re- 
stored by Kossuth and his party to their pristine purity, and 
the establishment of universal sufirage and personal freedom, 
by which every inhabitant had become a citizen and a man, 
had given general satisfaction. 



298 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Wlietlier with large or small forces, however, it was with 
great embarrassment that the Hungarians proceeded to defend 
their country against the Ban. Several of their own generals, 
of German origin or connection, proved traitors. Oettinger, 
the commander-in-chief against Jellachich, deserted and joined 
the rebel. Teleki, a Magyar in name but corrupted by Ger- 
man blood, had no sooner risen to the command, by Oettinger's 
defection, than he followed the example of his predecessor. 
The Palatine himself next took the field, but, at a moment 
when victory was certain, he abandoned the army and fled in 
all haste to Vienna. Three generals in succession, by the 
wickedest and worst of all villanies, showed the extent to 
which the reaction had now advanced in favor of the monarchy. 
They were alarmed by the declarations of the Ban, that, so 
soon as the soldiers of the empire should have re-established 
the power and tranquillity of the throne, every man, who had 
been found fighting against it, would receive his deserts ; that, 
as every one knew, the Hapsburgs were not the men to make 
no distinctions between their enemies and their friends ; and 
that the course, which he was himself pursuing, whatever the 
Magyars might pretend, had been dictated from the beginning 
by the crown, and would be ultimately acknowledged as the 
work of the imperial will. The three generals were convinced. 
General Moga, who succeeded to the command upon the flight 
of the Palatine, was also convinced. He saw that Jellachich 
was acting for the king. He saw that the king only waited 
his opportunity to avow, more openly than he dared then do, 
the services of the Croat chief. But this insight into the true 
state of the case only enraged his patriotic heart the more. 
A Wallachian by birth, but conquered by the recent magna- 
nimity of the Magyar nation, he espoused the cause of the 
democratic country, with an ardor and with a power of will, 
which soon conferred a lasting honor upon his name. The 
duplicity of Ferdinand had stung him to the heart. Retreat- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 299 

ing from Weissenburg to Velemcze, a position of great strength, 
he awaited the approach of the invading host. 

The Magyars now saw, that, to avoid an open rupture with 
the king and a bloody civil, war, an explanation of the present 
contradiction, brought about by Ferdinand's double dealing, 
must be had. One deputation, however, sent expressly for 
this purpose, having been repulsed by the emperor, the Hun- 
garians now sent an equally respectable delegation to the Con- 
stituent Assembly, which seemed to be assuming, more and 
more each day, the management of Austrian affairs. Here, 
also, they were disappointed. The German patriots received 
them gladly ; but the Sclaves, as was natural, still dreaming 
of their Sclavic empire, in which there was to be no chance 
for any German, or Magyar, or Italian aristocracy, as they 
said, denied the Hungarians a hearing. Greatly outnumber- 
ing the Germans in the Assembly, their will was conclusive. 
The delegation returned to Pcsth. They brought no sign, no 
hope, of a reconciliation. The National Assembly was again 
thrown into disorder. They clearly saw, that, if the king had 
commissioned Jellachich to invade the kingdom, and if the 
invasion should prove successful, those who might oppose his 
progress would be treated by Ferdinand as so many rebels to 
his authority. If, in this first struggle, they should them- 
selves be victorious, the king would probably send other 
armies to invade and conquer them. It was a period of 
general doubt, hesitation and embarrassment. There was 
only one man in Hungary, whose mind seemed to have posi- 
tive ideas, and to be clear in its sense of duty. That man 
was Kossuth. He was emphatically the man for the crisis. 
He told the Assembly, that, whether the letter to Jellachich 
was a forgery or not, one thing was certain. The manifesto 
of the 10th of June, and the royal address of the 8th of July, 
in both of which the kingdom was called upon to defend itself 
against the Ban, were genuine. He told the nation to go on 
and do what they had been twice commanded by the king to 



300 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

do ; and if there should turn out to be any duplicity, or con- 
tradiction, in the conduct of that king, it would be a matter 
for him to clear up, in his own time, but was not then a sub- 
ject for their consideration. The words of the minister cut 
the knot. Every one now saw through the difficulty. The 
resolution of the Assembly was at once taken. They voted 
to follow the orders of their sovereign and drive the invader 
from their territory. 

No one, however, could expect, that, with a force not ex- 
ceeding fifteen thousand men, most of whom had been rallied 
at the moment, general Moga could stand long in the path of 
the victorious Ban. The only hope was, that he might retard 
the march of the rebels, till a larger force could be mustered 
and the capital put in an attitude of defence. The ministry 
and the National Assembly, both of which were but the repre- 
sentatives of the mind of Kossuth, resumed their tranquillity; 
but the population of Pesth, and of the adjacent country, was 
alarmed. They expected to see their streets and their villages 
in flames, before the government would have time to draw the 
sword. They expected to behold the flag of the insurgents 
streaming from the towers of Buda, and the standard of re- 
bellion planted on the field of E-akosz, before the people would 
have the opportunity to arm. Still, with all their apprehen- 
sions, they manifested no cowardice. Courage, on the con- 
trary, was the mark of every countenance, the feeling of every 
breast. Every man resolved, against all this inequality, to 
keep his position, to defend his home, and rise' or fall accord- 
ing to the will of God. 

Jellachich, in the mean time, laughing at the weakness of 
the government and flushed with the most ambitious hopes, 
advanced through the country, confident of being able, in a 
few days, to silence all opposition by getting possession of the 
capital. His path, broad as it was, was marked by devastation 
and death. Though professing to be the friend of the nation, 
acting only for the restoration of that order of things, which 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 301 

Lad been overthrown by the demagogues of Pesth, he sup- 
ported his adherents by robbery and pillage ; and, when the 
inhabitants defended their possessions from the rapacity of tho 
soldiers, he left nothing but the ashes of the houses, and the 
mangled carcases of their occupants, to define the limits and 
progress of his camp. 

On the 29 th of September the two armies met. Thousands 
of the citizens of Pesth, and of the people of the neighboring 
country, had flocked to the scene of action, some to witness 
the expected battle, others to fight, if necessary, in the patriotic 
ranks. They had begun to realize, that, by a sudden and 
decided stroke, Jellachich might determine the fate of the 
country. He might rush from Valemcze to Buda without a 
halt. If, however, the little band under Moga could keep 
him occupied, till his troops should become too weary to follow 
up their expected fortune without a rest, there might be suffi- 
cient time thus gained to put the avenues to the capital in 
defence. The whole future of the nation, therefore, was 
probably suspended on the chances of a day. Both parties 
saw the importance of success. Both understood the ruin of 
defeat. When the rebel general led his forces out, each man 
was told, that a little energy for an hour or two would open 
them a road to the metropolis, where every one of them should 
be gratified with the annihilation of his enemies, loaded with 
the booty of the public and private buildings, and satiated 
with the beauty of the fair inhabitants. As the patriots went 
out to meet them, each individual felt, that his house, his 
home, his kindred and his country perished or survived in 
him. The bosoms of the spectators beat with a faltering 
hope — a hope against hope — and from every heart went up a 
prayer. Deeds of bravery were done that hour. Deeds 
worthy of Spartan valor, of Attic eloquence, were done. 
The first onset, as was to have been expected, nearly decided 
the question between the combatants. This over, however, 
the handful of Magyars had earned a single chance of exist- 

26 



302 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

ence against a thousand of instantaneous destruction. But 
this one chance became the nucleus of success. Around it all 
hearts rallied. The roar of the cannon, the clatter of the 
smaller arms, the clash of hostile swords, the confusion and 
the noise of battle, waxed louder and louder, as the issue of 
it became more and more doubtful. The culminating period 
at last came. The uproar began to decrease. Every moment 
it became less and less. It seemed, also, to incline southward, 
as if the hereditary bravery of the Magyars were proving too 
much for the Sclavic host, and the insurgents were bending to 
the blast. When the firing was done, and the thick sulphur- 
cloud had risen up and rolled off from the field of blood, the 
hopes of the spectators were confirmed. The work of victory 
was complete. There stood the heroic band, in the midst of 
the field, with the banner of their country flying in the breeze. 
Heaps of the enemy surrounded them on every side. The 
invading army had retired ~ from the scene of battle, leaving 
behind them a bloody proof, that the Magyar, when fully 
roused, whatever be the odds against him, is never to be 
beaten by the Sclave. 

The fate of the rebellion was now sealed. Jellachich, ask- 
ing and obtaining a cessation of hostilities, broke the condi- 
tions of the armistice, and fled toward the Austrian line. 
When the Magyar cavalry, which pursued him with all speed, 
obtained their first sight of him, he had crossed the Laytha, 
and taken up a position on the special territory of his ally in 
treachery, the king. His rear-guard, however, which he had 
left at Weissenburg to cover his intentions, was captured with- 
out a blow. His reserves, commanded by General Rott, who 
had entered the kingdom on the east, were met by Grbrgey and 
Perczel, to whom the rebels surrendered without a word. 
Thus, in about twenty days, this remarkable people, in a 
manner entirely characteristic of them, at a time when they 
were totally unprepared, annihilated a most formidable inva- 
.gion, which had been gathering, and growing, and boasting of 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 303 



its easy work, for about lialf as many months. The invaders 
only learned, what their ancestors had been taught a hundred 
times, that, with the advantage of a full preparation and a 
choice of time, the treachery of three or four Sclaves is not 
enough for the ever-ready valor of one Arpadian Hun. 

Jellachich, however, is now in Austria. He is now within 
reach of that monarch, who, on the 10th of June, declared 
him to be the enemy of his betrayed and indignant king. 
Now, if that king was sincere in what he said, is the time for 
vengeance. Now is the time to cut the insufferable rebel 
down. Now the reaction in behalf of the monarchy has be- 
come so complete, that the emperor can again safely act, 
openly and avowedly, according to his real will. Now he can 
not only carry out his edict of deposition against the Ban, but 
hang him, or shoot him, if he chooses, in an hour. If the 
Croat has actually been rebelling against the Hapsburg, judg- 
ing from all the past, death will certainly be his fate. Per- 
haps, indeed, that royal courier, who, on the 3d of October, 
comes riding in gayety across the plain, alighting at the rebel's 
tent, is the messenger of the yet angry Ferdinand, whose im- 
perial summons commands the presence of the culprit at the 
fatal bar. A package is actually handed to the traitor-chief. 
He opens it and reads: "We, Ferdinand I., Constitutional 
Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia, Sclavonia, 
Dalmatia, the Fifth of this name, to the Barons, to the High 
Dignitaries of the Church and State, to the Magnates and 
Bepresentatives of Hungary, its Dependencies, and the Grand 
Duchy of Transylvania, in parliament assembled, in our free 
and royal city of Pesth, Our greeting: — 1. "We dissolve the 
parliament by this our decree ; so that, after the publication 
of these presents, the parliament has immediately to close its 
session. 2. We declare as illegal, void, and invalid, all the 
resolutions, and the measures of the parliament, which we 
have not sanctioned. 3. All troops, and armed bodies of 
every kind, whether national guards, or volunteers, which are 



304 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

stationed in Hungary and its dependencies, as well as in 
Transylvania, are placed, by this Our Decree, under the chief 
command of OUR Ban of Croatia, Sclavonia and Dalmatia, 
Lieutenant Field-Marshal Baron Joseph Jcllachich ! 4. Until 
peace and order shall be restored in the country, the kingdom 
of Hungary shall be subjected to martial law; in consequence 
of which, the respective authorities are meanwhile to abstain 
from holding congregations of the counties, as well as of the 
municipalities, and of the districts. 5. Our Ban of Croatia, 
Sclavonia and Dalmatia, Baron Joseph Jellachich, is hereby 
invested and impowered as Commissioner of our royal majesty; 
and we give him full power and force, that he may, in the 
sphere of Executive Minister, exercise the authority with 
which, as Lieutenant of our royal majesty, we have invested 
him in the present extraordinary circumstances ! In conse- 
quence of these our sovereign letters patent, we declare that, 
whaUoever the Ban of Croatia shall order, regulate, determine 
and command, is to be considered as ordered, regulated, de- 
termined and commanded hy our royal authority T'^'^ 

The Ban was by no means startled by what he read. Had 
he not expected this reception, had he not been certain of it, 
how would he have dared to come, with a broken army of only 
eighteen thousand men, and put himself within reach of the 
imperial hand ? Every thing is plain, and perfectly consist- 
ent, when the Croat and the king are regarded as confederates 
in crime. On any other supposition, their motives are as un- 
intelligible, as their deeds were black. Their crime is treason. 
History pronounces the verdict ; and it is confirmed by the 
universal opinion of mankind. Each wears his mask as long 
as concealment is essential to success. When this point is 
passed, the very man, who, but a little time before, has been 



" The whole document can be seen in nearly every late work on 
Hungary. It is very correctly translated and printed in Klapka, 
vol. ii. pp. 241-245. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 305 

discarded and denounced, is loaded with honors and approba- 
tion, though he has done nothing, which he had not been 
doing from the very first. By ceasing to act as a Sclave, and 
espousing openly the German cause, he has only convinced 
the hesitating monarch, that he has been all the while fulfil- 
ling his treasonable engagements to the crown. This being 
rendered clear, that crown reinstates him in all his former 
offices, and adds to them the absolute dictatorship of the coun- 
try, which the king, against the arms of the rebel, has been 
professing to defend. The imperial veil is now removed. 
Ferdinand is himself, a Hapsburg, again. Hungary, invaded 
by one of her own subjects, and betrayed by that false despot, 
who has twice summoned her to this act of self-defence, at 
last opens her eyes and stands forth in astonishment before 
the world. Amidst this maze of double-dealing, she has, 
however, the single satisfaction, that, with the now unimport- 
ant exception of the Banat, she has vanquished all her ene- 
mies and driven them triumphantly from her soil ! 



26* 



306 IIUNOARY AND KOSSUTH. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE AUSTRIAN INVASION. 

The appointment of Jellacliicli to the dictatorship of Hun- 
gary, after the disgraceful issue of an invasion, which the king 
had officially condemned as an act of treason to himself, was 
an open declaration of war against the Hungarians. Such, at 
home and abroad, by the enemies and the friends of Hungary, 
it was unanimously regarded ; but the act was looked upon 
with various sentiments, as the spectators held toward it differ- 
ent relations. 

The party of the reaction, including both Sclaves and Ger- 
mans, considered it a most auspicious movement. The Hun- 
garians, they knew, while as yet perfectly loyal in their 
principles and conduct, would be the most unyielding enemies 
to the leading doctrine of the imperialists, that, in the re- 
organization of the empire, all the nationalities should be 
melted into one, of which Austria was to be the head. Hun- 
gary, which equaled in size and importance all the remain- 
der of the old empire, would not consent, they knew, to this 
annihilation, for the sake of a little dukedom about as large 
as one of her own counties. For eight hundred years, it 
was known, she had been ardently attached to those demo- 
cratic institutions, by which she had ever been distinguished. 
For eight hundred years, she had contended against all at- 
tempts to overthrow her peculiar liberties. For three hun- 
dred years, in particular, she had raised her voice, and fre- 
quently her hand, against that very dynasty, which now hoped 
to effect its long-cherished purpose of breaking down the 
independence of her people, that Austria might be a perfect 
despot. For about twenty years, more particularly still, she 



nUNOARY AND KOSSUTH. 307 

had been magnanimously struggling within herself, liberal- 
izing her form of government, emancipating her inhabitants, 
at the expense of the few breaking off the fetters of the many, 
and converting fifteen millions of masters and servants into a 
commonwealth of free and equal citizens. For the half of one 
year, in spite of two insurrections, she had been rejoicing over 
the blessings of universal liberty. Before the work of annihi- 
lation could be effected, such a nation, of course, was to be 
humbled, or blotted from existence. Despotic Austria had 
become weary of democratic Hungary. Now was the favor- 
able moment, for the execution of this Austrian measure j and 
every imperialist was glad of the opportunity of employing 
such a facile and yet powerful instrument as the Ban, in the 
accomplishment of the never-forgotten undertaking. 

During the summer, while Hungary was acting against the 
insurrection of the Banat, the Sclavic portion of the Austrian 
democratic party could not help sympathising, to some extent, 
with their brethren by blood, the Serbs. It was through their 
influence, it will be remembered, that the second delegation 
from Pesth, after the rebellion of the Croats had broken out, 
were denied an audience before the Constituent Assembly. 
The events of a few days, however, satisfied them of the true 
character of the Ban. They saw, almost as soon as he had 
pitched his tents in the neighborhood of Vienna, that he was 
playing a double game. They saw that he could not be de- 
pended on by them. By the 4th of October they were ready to 
unite with any party in putting the traitor, as they then loudly 
called him, down. When they beheld him in his new appoint- 
ment, as Dictator of Hungary, actively and openly espousing 
the old imperial cause, their resentment exceeded all bounds. 
They would have crushed him, had they known how to do it, 
with a hearty will. From this cause they became the friends 
of insulted Hungary, against which, as they were now bold to 
say, the king had declared an unprovoked, a groundless, and 
an unnatural war. 



308 nUNQARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The Grerman portion of tliis party, wlio had allowed their 
ardor to cool a little, while the Servian and Magyar movement 
was going on, now returned to their former state of earnestness 
toward the Hungarian democrats. They had never allowed 
themselves to be forgetful of their instructors and predecessors 
in the democratic cause. Much less had they shown any hos- 
tility to it. They had only ceased to think of it as much as 
formerly, occupied, as they were, with their affairs at home. 
Whenever appealed to by the Hungarians, however, the Ger- 
man patriots had ever been true to their plighted faith ; and 
now, when they saw the reaction rolling up against the patriotic 
cause like another deluge, and the king resolved to turn the 
billows over Hungary, as the source and centre of the demo- 
cratic spirit, the Glermans rose at once, and again offered their 
heart and hand to the hated and oppressed. 

In Austria, therefore, and particularly at Vienna, the Hun- 
garians had many supporters. In nearly all other parts of 
Europe, the majority of the people were their friends. Every- 
where, the policy of the Hapsburgs was well known. Every- 
where, the long struggle of the Magyars, the champions of 
constitutional liberty, against imperial despotism, was the 
theme of conversation. Everywhere, curses were pronounced 
against that monarch, who could profess one thing and do 
another, like the meanest villain of his realms. From every 
quarter, benedictions upon the heads of the Hungarian 
patriots, and prayers for their success, were wafted on every 
breeze to the Magyar land. The friends of freedom, through- 
out the civilized world, charged the emperor, not only with 
having been double in his conduct, but with having needlessly 
insulted the nation the second time, by making the avowed 
enemy of Hungary its absolute Dictator, clothed with the most 
unlimited authority over the laws and liberties of the king- 
dom, and over the persons and properties of that very people, 
to whom he was legally responsible for a most glaring crime. 
The man, who, by the statutes of every land, was a malefactor 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 309 

and a murderer, as well as a traitor to Lis country, was made 
the irresponsible arbitrator of life and death over those, whose 
right it was to arraign him as a culprit at their bar. Their 
state criminal, indeed, who had committed the highest offence 
known in law, was made the chief magistrate, the maker and 
executor of all law, to that very nation against which he had 
done the deed. As king of Hungary, Ferdinand had twice 
called upon the Hungarians to march out against the rebel, 
and crush him, if possible, before he could fairly plant him- 
self on Hungarian soil. As emperor of Austria, that same 
Ferdinand, with the duplicity of a despot, had espoused the 
interests of that rebel, and, using him as an instrument, de- 
clared war against the same Hungarians for doing what he had 
commanded and exhorted them to do ! * 

Such a course sometimes meets with a merited reward. No 
sooner had Jellachich pitched his wretched camp at Schwen- 
dorf, than the Academic Legion, and the democratic portion 
of the National Guards, asked permission to go out and fight 
him. The Sclaves in the Constitutional Assembly defeated 
the proposition, but sent a delegate to the rebel's camp to test 
his spirit, and to endeavor to buy him back again to the 
Sclavic party. The measure was unsuccessful. While this 
negotiation was going forward, Windischgriits was hurrying 
his troops down from Prague, where he had been perfectly 
triumphant against the Pansclavic movement, to unite with 
Jellachich in forming the contemplated blockade of the im- 
perial capital. G-eneral Auersperg, who commanded the gar- 
rison of Vienna, like nearly all the high officers of the regular 
army, was a rank imperialist, and watched his opportunity to 
raise the standard of the reaction. So long as he remained 
within the city, the people considered him as at least neutral, 
because he was evidently at their mercy. At five o'clock, on 

' Pulsky's Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. i. pp. 175-184, and Klapka's 
War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 64-65. 



310 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tlie 5tli of October, an order was issued, that, on the next 
morning, the garrison should leave their former quarters, and 
recede to a position beyond the limits of the city. No one 
could misunderstand the object of this movement. It was 
the first overt act of the reaction within the capital. The 
troops were to go out, of course, in order to join the forces of 
Windischgrats and Jellachich. "Words would fail to picture 
the popular excitement of that evening. The Constituent 
Assembly, foreseeing a war and fearing its expenses, was 
thrown into a position of open hostility to the government. 
It denounced the measure without mercy. On that very day, 
the celebrated Dr. Tausenau, the orator of the people, had 
pronounced a splendid and powerful oration in the Odeon, to 
ten thousand of the citizens, against the rebel, Jellachich. 
His words were still burning in the hearts of his auditors. 
No sooner was the military order made generally current, 
than all Vienna was broken up into knots, which earnestly 
and angrily discussed the common topic. The night passed 
away, however, without tumult. At an early hour on the 
following morning, a part of the garrison issued from their 
barracks, and proceeded across the city toward the depot of the 
rail-road, on which they were to be carried near the camp of 
the treacherous Croat. They complied with the command to 
march with manifest unwillingness. " The Hungarians," said 
they, " are our brothers, not our foes." They were accompa- 
nied by a numerous escort of National Guards, armed and un- 
armed, whose feelings were still more patriotic. The populace 
rushed from all quarters to the embankment of the railway. 
Determined that the troops should not leave the town, they 
broke down an arch of one of the bridges of the road. A 
student of the university, and a member of the Academic 
Legion, arose above the heads of the vast crowd, and made an 
effective speech, appealing to General Bredi, the immediate 
commander of the soldiers. He implored the general to signify 
to Count Latour, then the Austrian Minister of War, that the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 311 

garrison was not willing to march out against the Hungarians, 
or to the support of the Croat Ban. The appeal appeared to 
be successful. The commander promised to notify the minister 
of the unwelcome fact. While gone to execute this new and 
singular commission, given him by a young man, whose name 
was scarcely known, but who had spoken the sentiments of 
the people, the throng increased; and, on returning with a 
fresh order to advance in spite of all opposition, he found the 
masses of citizens so dense, that he could not leave his posi- 
tion, unless the populace should willingly disperse, without 
cutting a passage by the sword. The populace would not dis- 
perse. They crowded before the troops and bound them fast. 
The general commanded the citizens to retire. They told 
him to beware of the length to which he pushed the mandates 
of a fallen power. The warning was proudly scorned. The 
officer informed his opponents, that he was only executing the 
order of his sovereign, which had been twice sanctioned by 
the imperial ministry. The citizens replied, that, whatever 
might be the authority under which the step was covered, it 
was looked upon as an open avowal of the Croatian insurrec- 
tion, an actual declaration of war against Hungary, and an 
audacious defiance of the popular cause throughout the empire. 
They declared, that, in spite of all orders so glaringly revo- 
lutionary and illegal, not a soldier should leave the city. The 
issue was now perfect. The Austrian commander, blind to 
the consequences of his conduct, and determined to obey the 
emperor by going out to the support of Jellachich, pronounced 
the fatal word to fire. One or two companies, raised among 
the peasantry of Gallicia, discharged their pieces. Several of 
the National Guards, with some well-known citizens, fell. The 
shot was returned. General Bredi tumbled from his horse. 
The crowd rushed upon the troops and overwhelmed them. 
The bruit of the battle spread on every side. The whole city 
was shortly in a state of general convulsion. The great alarm- 
bell was rung. Barricades rose, as by magic, in every quarter. 



312 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

The wliole garrison proceeded to the streets. The people, 
armed in haste, flew to the improvisated breastworks. The 
carnage on both sides was dreadful. Before the sun went 
down, however, the cause of the citizens was triumphant. 
Count Latour had been captured in the War Office, on the 
Hof, where he was hung as an accomplice of the treacherous 
Ferdinand ; Ferdinand himself, not daring to trust the second 
time to his subterranean strong-hold, had fled to Olmiitz ; the 
soldiers, overpowered at every point, had surrendered to their 
antagonists ; the Constituent Assembly, flying into session on 
the first rumor of the outbreak, and feeling its responsibility 
after the departure of the monarch, had declared itself en i^er- 
manence, as the only legal government ; and the banners of 
freedom, of popular liberty, had been again unfurled from 
every height, tower, and steeple. *" 

Now was the time to seal the fate of the Austrian reaction. 
Hungary was in the undisputed possession of its own people. 
Vienna was in the hands of its patriotic citizens. The Con- 
stituent Assembly, legally created and now vested with su- 
preme authority, had committed itself fully on the side of the 
revolution. The garrison of the city had been subdued and 
driven to their quarters. The forces of Jellachich had been 
reduced and humbled ; and Windischgrats himself, though at 
the head of a brave and victorious army, could have been cut 
to pieces, as he was concentrating his scattered regiments upon 
the capital. At this moment, the Constituent Assembly should 
have taken the most efficient measures. It should have organ- 
ized an army for the occasion. It should have called in the 
militia, who, in all parts of the country, were ready to march 
at a moment's warning. It should have summoned the help 
of Upper Austria, where the patriotic cause had long been 
triumphant. If in any doubt of its success, with all these 



" Pulsky's Mem. Hung. Lady, pp. 175-191, and Klapka's War in 
Hungary, vol. i. pp. 71-73. The arsenal was not taken till after dark. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 313 

arrangements, it should have sent an invitation to General 
Moga, who still commanded the Magyar forces, and who had 
pursued the Ban to the line of Hungary. The Hungarians, 
too cautious of maintaining a perfectly legal course, even after 
all law had been annihilated by the despotic measures of the 
emperor, would not cross the frontier without an express 
invitation. They knew, of course, that Ferdinand had de- 
clared war upon them ; but they did not wish to take any step, 
which could be construed into hostility to the king, until all 
men should see, that they were not the authors of the civil 
war then evidently impending. All men have seen what they 
wished to demonstrate ; they have seen, that, at every step, 
Hungary acted entirely in self-defence against the aggressions 
of a despot ; but they have been led, while admiring the for- 
bearance of the nation, to condemn the policy of its scruples. 
By one bold and energetic movement, perfectly justified by 
the recent proceedings of the monarch, the Hungarians might 
have saved to their land, and to the world, many a brave and 
noble-hearted citizen, a vast amount of treasure, and perhaps 
the liberties they had just established. On their march from 
Valemcze to Pressburg, they should have collected thirty or 
forty thousand volunteers ; they should have rushed upon the 
Croat and stopped his further progress; they should have 
pushed forward to Vienna, intercepted the approaches of Win- 
dischgrats, counteracted the designs of Auersperg, formed an 
alliance with the people, held the king as a prisoner in his 
palace, and thus, without the shedding of much blood, con- 
summated the most auspicious and glorious of modern revo- 
lutions. 

Such, however, was not the order of events. Kossuth, it 
is said, privately suggested these successive steps ; but, having 
previously planted himself on the letter of the law, he could 
not consistently force the country, had he been ever so clear 
in his convictions, from the basis established by himself. He 
saw, too, that the National Assembly, in which the conserva- 



814 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tives had still some power, would resist the new policy, till its 
eyes should be a little more opened by the developments, 
which, he clearly perceived, would soon be made. Keeping 
his own eyes, therefore, fixed on Vienna, he contented himself 
with privately urging upon the members a summary course, 
hoping, in this way, to gain his purpose before the great op- 
portunity for it should pass away. All he could obtain, how- 
ever, was the passage of a bill authorizing General Moga to 
demand of Auersperg to disarm the retreating Jellachich, and, 
only in case of a refusal, to cross the frontier of Hungary in 
pursuit of the fugitive. A fatal delay was thus occasioned ; 
the Ban reached the neighborhood of Vienna without meeting 
with opposition ; the forces of "Windischgrats and Jellachich 
were united; and the insurrection of the capital, though it 
temporarily confined the movements of the intra-mural sol- 
diers, did not long prevent them from evacuating the city and 
joining the troops of the imperial party. 

There never was a more singular revolution. Though in 
open hostility to each other, the soldiers and citizens, when 
not fighting, met and exchanged civilities with their usual 
freedom. No attempt was made, on either side, to derange 
the ordinary course of business. Shops were still open as in 
the most quiet seasons. Stages were still running without 
molestation. The telegraph was left undisturbed in its opera- 
tions. Trains of cars were yet constantly going and returning. 
Citizens, taking with them what they wished, proceeded to the 
country at their pleasure. Countrymen, bringing what they 
chose, were admitted into the city without a question. A 
revolution had been completed; but there was no hand, no 
power, to control, to guide, to use it. The people submitted 
their condition to the Constituent Assembly ; and the Con- 
stituent Assembly, which the Sclavic members had abandoned, 
were waiting to be directed, or pushed forward, by the spirit 
and impulses of the people. The Assembly finally resigned 
the defence of the city, and of the revolution, to the Common 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 815 



Council. The Common Council, not accustomed to such 
bloody business, looked to the National Guards, not only for 
protection, but for the initiation of all necessary measures. 
The National Gruards could not depend upon their commanders. 
They changed them three times in five days. G-eneral Mes- 
senhauser, the last one appointed, though true to the popular 
cause, was a man of no military genius. He satisfied his am- 
bition, or appeased his conscience, with useless proclamations 
to the citizens. The citizens, full of animation and as brave 
as Spartans, wasted their time and their ammunition in firing 
long shots from the glacis, which separates the inner from tht 
outer town, upon the distant camps of their antagonists. The 
Austrians and the Hungarians, having exactly the same ends 
in view, were both paralyzed by the same, and a very needless, 
scruple- They were both vainly endeavoring to carry on a 
revolution in a perfectly legal manner, until one or the other 
party should set the example of illegality, by taking some 
step not authorized by law and custom. The Viennese were 
waiting for the Hungarians to get impatient and cross the 
frontier of Hungary. The Hungarians, on their part, were 
waiting for the Viennese to become weary of this tardiness, 
and to send a request for their presence at the capital. 

While the revolution was in this condition, the Hungarians 
sent Francis Pulsky as a messenger to Vienna, to make an 
inquiry into the true state of things, and particularly to learn 
the wishes of the patriots- He arrived at the capital on the 
13 th of October. He first went to the Permanent Committee 
of the Assembly, which was then holding its sessions in the 
imperial palace. The Committee sent him to the Council. 
The Council sent him to the Guards. The Guards, partly in 
the hands of imperialists, and liable to be betrayed at any 
moment, would scarcely make an answer to his interrogations, 
and gave him no satisfaction. He returned in disappointment 
to the camp of the Hungarians.^ 

' Pulskj's Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. i. pp. 197-200. 



316 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

At this crisis the world-renowned Bern reached Vienna on 
his way to Hungary. He was a Pole of noble blood, of a 
commanding and pleasing appearance, and with the marks of 
benevolence and genius on every feature. A patriot from his 
birth, and a soldier by trade, he had fought many a battle for 
his country, in her last struggle for existence, against the 
autocrat of the north. During the whole summer, he had 
been performing deeds of heroism, in a private way, for the 
cause of European liberty, without even the expectation of 
personal reward. He now came to offer his services to that 
nation, which, as he thought, was doing most for human free- 
dom, and which needed his devotion most. No sooner, how- 
ever, was it known to the citizens of Vienna, that the well- 
known Bern was among them, than they thronged the apart- 
ments of the chieftain, importuning him to take upon himself 
the command of the city and the defence of the revolution. 
Bern told the Austrians that his heart was in Hungary. 
" There," said he, " is a people, whose magnanimity, whose 
love of liberty, whose hatred to despotism, are unknown in 
Europe." " That," replied the Viennese, " is very true, but 
the Magyars have Kossuth, whose sagacity, and bravery, and 
talents are enough for any one nation. Bem must be our 
Kossuth." The appeal succeeded. The Pole agreed to the 
proposition ; and, in this way, for the first time, there was 
formed a perfect understanding, a unity of design if not of 
action, between the patriots of the two countries. 

By this time, however, it had become nearly impossible for 
the two to hold any intercourse with each other. Auersperg 
had 'aken up his position in the park of Schwartzenberg, near 
the camp of Jellachich. Jellachich had collected all his 
Croats and fortified himself near the south-western angle of 
the city. Windischgrats had brought down all his forces from 
Bohemia, and detailed numerous bodies from Gallicia, Mo- 
ravia, and other distant provinces. He had been appointed 
commander-in-chief of all the imperial forces acting for the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 317 

emperor on the soil of Austria. He had completely surrounded 
the capital with his soldiers. He had issued a manifesto, de- 
claring himself civil and military dictator of the whole mo- 
narchy, excepting Italy, where the veteran Radetsky was still 
in office. He had summoned all the staff officers of the Hun- 
garian army to make their appearance at his head-quarters, 
and answer for their late conduct. All things were now ripe, 
on the part of the imperialists, for action. 

The Hungarians were also getting ready. With a force of 
twelve thousand men, and thirty cannon, Kossuth had left 
Pesth, against all the opposition of his undecided and hesitat- 
ing colleagues, to join the Hungarian camp at Pressburg. He 
had waited, and reasoned with his friends, till he could wait 
no longer. He was received by his countrymen with un- 
paralleled enthusiasm. His first step was to review the army. 
His second was to send a letter to Bern, apprising him fully 
of the disposition of the Hungarian army, and laying down a 
plan of attacking the imperialists before Vienna. He also 
invited the Pole to visit the Magyar camp, and confer with 
himself on the present emergency, and on the probabilities of 
the future. The letter was not received. Getting into the 
i\ands of Messenhauser, who, since being superseded by Bem, 
had begun to seek the means of reconciliation with the mo- 
narch, it was suppressed by the treacherous German. The 
failure of that epistle was the second failure of the revolution. 
Had it safely reached the hands of Bem, the two great men 
would have met and planned a movement, which, there can be 
no doubt, would have been successful. The imperialists could 
have been enclosed between two armies, one of which was fcafe 
within a line of fortifications, which have seldom submitted to 
the utmost power and bravery of an enemy. The other, ap- 
proaching from behind, could have advanced and retired at 
pleasure, cut off the sale of food to their opponents, and, 
watching their opportunity, rushed down upon them with their 
characteristic impetuosity at the most favorable moments. 

27* 



318 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Union would have been victory ; but Vienna had committed 
too much of her wavering destiny to a traitor. Several days 
were given up, by the Hungarians, to the expectation of see- 
ing Bern. No Bern appeared. Little did the Magyars know 
what bloody business was occupying the hands of the ener- 
getic Pole. On the 27th of October, while Kossuth was ad- 
dressing a council of the superior officers, the thunder of the 
imperial cannon was wafted by a western breeze to the camp 
of the Magyars. He had been urging upon his friends the 
necessity of marching directly to Vienna, if they wished to 
save it. Pausing in the midst of his noble speech, to make 
himself certain of the sounds he heard, then assuming an 
attitude peculiarly appropriate, and throwing out his finger 
toward the capital, he ezclaimed : " Magyars, I have said 
enough. I have told you the truth. Listen, if you wish to 
hear the echo of my arguments I" 

Such language could not fail to take effect. It now fell 
upon the ears of men prepared to appreciate its meaning. At 
the review on the 24th, just mentioned, the faint-hearted of 
the army, who had been the chief obstacle to decisive mea- 
sures, had been wisely, as well as humanely, permitted to re- 
tire from the scene of conflict. On that day, Kossuth had 
made one of his most memorable efforts. His position, his 
responsibility, his hope of the great future, the events of the 
passing moment, filled him with an unusual inspiration. He 
stirred the blood of every true-hearted Magyar. Since the 
speeches of the Eoman orator against Cataline, the world had 
heard nothing like the address, to which the poorest son of 
Hungary was then allowed to listen. The privileged hear- 
ing such a man, on such an occasion — a man not soon to be 
paralleled — an occasion never to be repeated — would repay the 
meanest soldier, one would think, for many a future trouble. 
The soldiers seemed to appreciate their privilege. They had 
never dreamed of such power of utterance. They shouted. 
They wept. They gnashed their teeth. They lifted up their 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 319 

clenched fists. They thundered from every quarter — " Lead 
us against the traitors — let us grind them to powder — the 
Magyar will defend the liberty and independence of his na- 
tion I" At the conclusion of his appeal, Kossuth stretched 
out his hand toward the great highway of Hungary, exclaim- 
ing with prodigious emphasis — " Magyars, there is the road 
to your peaceful homes and firesides." Then turning to trace 
it, as it crossed the plains towards Vienna, he added with still 
greater passion — " Yonder is the path to death j but it is the 
path of duty. Which will you take ? Every man shall 
choose for himself. We want none but willing soldiers !" 
The scholar may talk of Demosthenes and his philippics. 
Greece never heard such a shout as now uprose from the full 
hearts of thirty thousand Magyars. " Death or liberty I" 
was the only answer. A few foreigners, about a hundred in 
all, with half a dozen Hungarians, threw up their arms and 
their commissions. The mass of the army stood fixed, breath- 
ing the same breath, burning with the same resolution.* 

It cannot be denied, however, that there was still in the 
Hungarian camp quite a formidable opposition to aggressive 
measures. It came not from the ranks. It came not from 
the inferior oflSicers. All these begged and intreated to be 
led to battle. It came from three men, whose position was 
pre-eminent, and whose motives are to this day inscrutable. 
Those men were general Moga, the commander-in-chief, colonel 
Kolmann, the chief of the staff, and PazmAndy, the president 
of the lower house of the National Assembly. The influence 
of Kossuth, nevertheless, was superior to their opposition. 
His words, when he spoke decidedly, were still laws to every 
true-hearted Hungarian. " Though Hungary," said he, in his 
concluding remarks to this military council, " stood in no con- 
nection with Vienna, yet it is the duty of honor to hasten to 



* Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. ii. p. 26, and Klapka's War of Hungary, 
vol. i. Int. p. 75. 



320 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the aid of the Viennese, as they have risen solely in opposi- 
tion to the late despotic measures against the Magyar nation. 
If we win a battle, it will not only decide the fate of the 
Austrian monarchy, but of all Germany. If we lose one, it 
will not discourage the nation, but will spur it to still greater 
sacrifices. But to be passive, at the very threshold of the 
scene of action, would lower the Hungarians with foreign 
countries, and would cool the ardor of Hungary itself." Such 
was the logic of the statesman ; and it was decisive, his oppo- 
nents themselves making no farther resistance. 

The golden moment, however, had been lost. Kossuth had 
conquered, for the last time, the opinion of his antagonists; 
but the victory, with all the honor it conferred on him, was 
too late for his country's highest good. On the 27th of Octo- 
ber, the day of these deliberations, the details of the march 
were settled. On the 28th, the army crossed the frontier, 
and advanced slowly toward Yienna. On the 29th, they still 
proceeded carefully, making friends of all the people through 
whose neighborhoods they passed. At night they took up 
their position on a height opposite to Manneswbrth and Schwe- 
chat, within sight of the steeples of the capital, and within 
sight of the camp-fires of the imperialists. The night was 
spent in preparation for the day of battle. On the morning, 
a heavy mist covered both armies, and hid all the surrounding 
country. Between seven and eight o'clock, the vapor rose up, 
and left the whole land, to the very suburbs of the city, an 
open spectacle. . "Now," said the Hungarians to themselves, — 
"now, our friends in Yienna can see to commence their attack 
on our common enemies. Now, according to Kossuth's letter 
to Bem, they will soon open their long fires from the suburbs, 
and keep the Austrians well occupied in front, while we are 
rushing down upon them in the rear. Perhaps, however, they 
are waiting for us to turn the faces of our foes eastward, that 
our allies may have the advantage of the rear attack." But 
no guns were fired from Yienna. None were fired by the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 321 

Hungarians. It was soon evident, as the Hungarians thought, 
that Kossuth's letter had miscarried. The patriots of the 
capital, however, would be sure to co-operate, in an effective 
manner, it was still believed, so soon as they should see the 
Hungarians and Austrians in actual conflict. At eight o'clock 
the fast cannon-shot sounded from the army of the imperial- 
ists. It was greeted with a thundering acclamation on the 
side of the impatient Magyars. A cannonading of two hours , 
followed. At ten o'clock, Major Guyon made a furious charge 
from the left upon Mannesworth, and took it. The right wing 
next pushed forwards against the Croats, who were still com- 
manded by the rebel, Jellachich, and defeated them with great 
slaughter. Now was the moment for the patriots of the capital 
to make their sortie. But no sortie was made. All was still 
upon the ramparts and around the gates. Not a gun was dis- 
charged. Not a flag was seen. There began to be a strange 
mystery in all this silence. Still there was hope. The Hun- 
garians pushed onward. They prepared to storm Schwechat. 
Suddenly, as if by ambuscade, regiment after regiment of the 
imperial army began to pour down upon the left of the Hun- 
garians. The right, perfectly victorious, dared not advance, 
for fear of breaking up the line of battle. Next, other regi- 
ments, seemingly without number, rushed from their positions 
against the rigiit and centre of the Hungarians. Their camp 
was left completely exposed to the patriots of the city. But 
no patriots appeared. Vienna remained as silent as a grave- 
yard. The mystery had become terribly perplexing. Kos- 
suth, who rode continually by Moga's side, exposing his per- 
son to all the chances of the engagement, still animated the 
heart of the commander, still pushed on the Magyars to battle, 
still hoped that the expected aid would come in time to save 
the fortunes of the day and crush the enemies of human free- 
dom. At four o'clock, Moga wished to order a retreat, but 
Kossuth peremptorily forbade him. At that moment, how- 
ever, as chance would have it, a battalion of peasants from 



322 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the county of Komorn, armed witb scythes only, who had 
stood passively exposed to the fire of the enemy for several 
hours, were thrown into confusion by the sudden explosion of 
several shells. They turned and fled. The right wing was 
thus irretrievably disordered. The retreat was sounded with 
the consent of Kossuth. It was completely covered by the 
bravery of the left wing, which doubled round upon the re- 
treating right, and, with the help of a small reserve, stood 
between the fugitives and their foes. At night, while en- 
camped at a place of safety, it was discovered, that thirty 
thousand Hungarians had fought eight hours against seventy 
thousand Austrians ; that two hundred of the Magyars had 
made their beds, on the field of battle, with about five hun- 
dred of their antagonists ; and, as a sufficient solution of the 
great mystery of the day, that, when the first shot was fired 
in the morning, the patriotic capital had fallen, and was then 
actually occupied by a detachment of the imperial forces ! * 

The victors did not pursue the fugitives. There was a work 
to be done in Austria, before the affairs of Hungary could 
receive farther notice from the conquerors. Vienna must be 
purged of its patriotism. The rifle of the court-martial must 
decimate the party of German democrats. Each class of men, 
who had contributed any members to that party, had to suffer, 
as if in a symbolical manner, in one of its most illustrious 
representatives ; and the death of these representatives was to 
be solemnized by the immolation of vast numbers of their 
respective associates and supporters. It would seem that 
Windischgriits, who hated democracy with a peculiar hatred, 
wished to condemn and madden every order of its adherents, 
by selecting his victims from each with a degree of system. 

' Pulsky's Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. ii. pp. 23-34. Francis Pulsky, 
husband of the authoress, is the best extant authority for this en- 
gagement. He was an eye-witness. He was aid to Moga on the 
battle-field. With his account, however, I have compared several 
others. There is a general agreement. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 323 

First of all, the eloquent Blum, one of the most benevolent 
and harmless of men, was obliged to represent the Frankfort 
Assembly, of which he was a member, by presenting his noble 
and intellectual forehead as a mark to the unerring riflemen. 
Baron Stenau represented, in the hour of death, as he had in 
life, the republican section of the nobility. The democratic 
press was put under the ban by the execution of the peace- 
loving but patriotic Becher. The Jews were punished by the 
death of the youthful, learned and enthusiastic philosopher, 
Jellinek, whose greatest crime was, that he advocated the 
mystical doctrines of his master, Hegel, whose works had long 
been legally established as text-books in many of the leading 
German universities. The Poles were branded by the murder 
of Jelovizki, the aid-de-camp of Bem, who, wounded and dis- 
guised, had effected his escape and joined the Hungarian army. 
Several Hungarians, day-laborers, who had had no connection 
with the revolution, paid the bloody tribute for their country. 
The National Guards received a double portion of this foul 
resentment. In the first place, quite a number of superior 
and inferior officers were shot. These, however, were not 
thought to be sufficient. Messenhauser, whose patriotism, 
however sincere, had been of real disadvantage to his party, 
and whose course of action had been extremely gentle, had, 
nevertheless, gone too far, it was believed by Windischgrats, 
to admit of favor. He was tried and sentenced. According 
to law and custom, however, in the case of a commanding 
general, three days were given him to prepare for death. A 
petition, largely signed by the most noted imperialists of the 
city, was sent to Olmiitz imploring mercy for the ill-fated 
officer of the people. The blood-thirsty conqueror was not to 
be thus eluded. Messenhauser was executed on the second 
day after his conviction, contrary to the remonstrance of the 
imperial Judge- Advocate, who pronounced the act illegal; 
and, just in time to see the pale corpse before its burial, the 
messengers returned from Olmiitz with the general's pardon ! 



324 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

While such brutalities were being perpetrated at Vienna, 
the Hungarians had retreated to Pressburg, where they were 
making vigorous preparations to defend the nation. Moga, 
having received a fall from his horse, resigned his command ; 
and Kossuth, as a reward for bravery and talents displayed in 
the engagement of Schwechat, instantly raised Grbrgey, before 
unknown to fame, to the post thus rendered vacant. The new 
commander commenced his responsible career with great spirit. 
His sagacity in the selection of agents, his skill in giving form 
and solidity to a mass of unpractised soldiers, were soon appa- 
rent. Under his hand, the unmilitary volunteer, who had 
never seen a battle, was at once transformed into the likeness, 
and marked by the characteristics, of a veteran. The loose- 
ness of Moga's discipline was immediately superseded by the 
most rigid and systematic order. In less than fourteen days 
from the elevation of the young general, the upper army of 
defence, as this corps was styled, instead of the waywardness 
and weakness of a horde of raw recruits, had become an army 
worthy of the work to which they were soon to be devoted. 

In the commencement of the Hungarian revolution, so far 
back as 1832, the party of the patriots had been composed 
chiefly of Protestants. The other denominations, and par- 
ticularly the Catholics, were generally in the opposition. The 
revolution itself, however, when its character had become fully 
known, when the nature of the new laws had been made ap- 
parent, when the people had had the privilege of tasting for 
themselves the blessings sought after by the establishment of 
universal equality and liberty, had conquered nearly all oppo- 
sition. The whole nation, as has been seen, had rejoiced 
together. When the Serbs revolted, when the Croats rebelled, 
the Catholics of Hungary and Transylvania maintained their 
fealty to the revived and improved constitution. Kossuth, 
though a consistent Protestant himself, had gained the confi- 
dence of an entire denomination, which, in almost every other 
country, and in all ages, has leaned to the support of despot- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 325 

ism and oppression. At the juncture now under consideration, 
the bishops of that denomination, still adhering to their re- 
cent love of freedom, after ^ long and profound deliberation, 
addressed a remonstrance to their emperor, forcibly presenting 
the cruelty and duplicity of his late movements, the duty of 
the Hungarians to resist him, and the dreadful impolicy and 
wickedness of a civil war, certainly to be raised by a continu- 
ance of his unhappy measures : " Hungary is actually," said 
the bishops, " in the saddest and most deplorable situation. 
In the south, an entire race, although enjoying all the civil and 
political rights recognised in Hungary, has been in open insur- 
rection for several months, excited and led astray by a party, 
that seems to have adopted the frightful mission of extermi- 
nating the Magyar and German races, which have constantly 
been the strongest and surest support of the throne of your 
majesty. Several thriving towns and villages have become a 
prey to flames, and have been totally destroyed ; thousands of 
Magyar and German subjects are wandering about without 
food or shelter, or have fallen victims to indescribable cruel- 
ties; for it is revolting to repeat the frightful atrocities by 
which the popular rage, let loose by diabolical excitement, 
ventures to display itself." Their charge of duplicity, how- 
ever caustic, is expressed in the language of doubt, though the 
doubt is burningly ironical : " Yes, Sire, it is under your go- 
vernment, and in the name of your majesty, that our flourish- 
ing towns are bombarded, sacked, and destroyed. In the name 
of your majesty, they butcher the Magyars and Germans. 
Yes, Sire, all this is done ; and they incessantly repeat it, in 
the name and by the order of your majesty, who, neverthe- 
less, have proved, in a manner so authentic and so recent, your 
benevolent and paternal intentions towards Hungary — in the 
name of your majesty, who, in the last Diet of Pressburg, 
yielding to the wishes of the Hungarian nation, and to the 
exigencies of the time, consented to sanction and confirm, hy 
your royal word and oath, the foundation of a new constitu- 

28 



326 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

tion, established on the still broader foundation of a perfectly 
independent government I" The resistance of the nation to 
these acts of despotism and double-mindedness is defended in 
the plainest but most respectful language : "Already, Sire, 
have these new laws and liberties, giving the surest guarantees 
for the freedom of the people, struck root so deeply in the 
hearts of the nation, that public opinion makes it our duty to 
represent to your majesty, that the Hungarian people could 
not but lose that devotion and veneration, consecrated and 
proved on so many occasions up to the present time, if it were 
attempted to make them believe, that the violation of the 
laws, and of the government sanctioned and established by 
your majesty, is committed with the consent of the king \" 
The fearful results of this civil conflict, brought on by royal 
treachery, are boldly stated : "But let your majesty also deign 
to reflect upon the terrible consequences of these civil wars, 
not only as regards their influence on the moral and substantial 
interests of the people, but also as regards the security and 
stability of the monarchy. Let a barrier be speedily raised 
against those passions excited and let loose, with infernal art, 
amongst populations hitherto so peaceable ! How is it pos- 
sible to make people, who have been inspired with the most 
frightful thirst — the thirst of blood — return within the limits 
of order, justice, and moderation ? Who will restore to the 
regal majesty the original purity of its brilliancy, of its 
splendor, after having dragged that majesty in the mire of the 
most evil passions ? Who will restore faith and confidence in 
the royal word and oath ? Who will render an account to the 
tribunal of the living Grod, of the thousands of individuals, 
who have fallen, and fall every day, innocent victims to the 
fury of civil war !" After this explicit declaration, that the 
Magyars were " innocent" of the trouble brought upon their 
country, the patriotic bishops conclude their address by an 
appeal, that must have gone like naked steel to the conscience 
of the monarch : " Sire ! our duty as faithful subjects, the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 327 

good of the country, and the honor of our religion, have in- 
spired us to make these humble but sincere remonstrances, 
and have bid us raise our vt)ices ! So, let us hope, that your 
majesty will not only receive our sentiments, but that, mind- 
ful of the solemn oath that you took on the day of your coro- 
nation, in the face of Heaven, not only to defend the liberties 
of the people, but to extend them — that, mindful of this oath, 
to which you appeal so often and so solemnly, you will remove 
from your royal person the terrible responsibility, which these 
impious and hloody wars heap upon the throne — and that you 
will tear off the tissue of vile falsehoods, with which pernicious 
advisers beset you, by hastening with prompt and strong reso- 
lution to recall peace and order to our country, which was 
always the firmest prop to your throne, in order that, in the 
midst of profound peace, she may raise a monument of eternal 
gratitude to the justice and paternal benevolence of her king !"^ 
The address was delivered to the king by the lips of Foga- 
rassy, one of its signers, in the royal retreat at Olmiitz. The 
bishop was treated with contempt. The emperor, though a 
fugitive, felt certain of the ultimate success of the reaction. 
The document was read to him on the 30th of October, the 
day of the defeat at Schwechat, when the fall of Vienna, 
added to all the other disasters of the democratic party, had 
made it safe for him to be again a despot. This, of course, 
was his natural character. He acted like himself, and like his 
ancestors, in abusing the patriotic bishop. The abuse, how- 
ever, was useful to the oppressed and insulted country. When 
the episcopal messenger returned to Pesth, the news of his 
reception at court had preceded him. The clergy of his com- 
munion were enraged. The bishops again assembled, and, no 
longer hoping any thing from Ferdinand, the imperial head 
of their denomination, they prepared and published an address 
to the Hungarian Catholics, which made nearly every man of 

* Pulsky's Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. ii. pp. 40-45. 



328 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



them a patriot : " When, six months ago, our constitution, 
eight centuries old, was modified at the Diet of Pressburg, 
according to the exigencies of the times and the wishes of the 
nation, and its benefits extended to all the sons of our native 
land, tvitliout distinction of class, language or creed; when the 
independent government, sanctioned by the king, received its 
powers, no one would have believed it possible ever to attack 
that free constitution, or to excite the other races against the 
Hungarians. The good that was obtained having become the 
good of all, the sincere alliance of the races ought, on the 
contrary, to have been strengthened ; barriers and walls be- 
tween races, as between classes, ought to have fallen for ever. 
With what joy we saw liberty and civil rights extended to our 
fellow-countrymen — with what eagerness we pressed forward 
to facilitate the realization of the wishes of the country — we 
have proved by the sacrifices we have imposed upon ourselves. 
We were convinced, that, if the liberty of the entire people, 
and consequently of our faithful Catholics, were increased — if 
they thus acquired the means of ameliorating their lot — our 
holy church would become greater through the spiritual and 
material elevation of her children, and that they would attach 
themselves more closely to her in praising the Lord for the 
benefits with which he had covered us, by the hands of the 
legislators of our country. It is for this reason, that we 
hastened to make known to the clergy of our dioceses, that 
they should point the attention of their hearers to the great- 
ness and liberality of the new laws, in order that the faithful 
might conscientiously fulfil their duties, (particularly obedience 
to the king and to the legal authorities,) which their new 
rights imposed upon them. To our intense sorrow, the peace 
of our country has been troubled for several months; but it 
is a consolation to us to see, that our exhortations in favor of 
obedience and patriotism have not been uttered in vain. 
Thanking Grod for this result, and grateful for the noble con- 
duct of the clergy of our dioceses, we entreat them, as well 



HUNGAKY AND KOSSUTH. 329 

as all the faithful, with the tenderest expressions of fatherly 
love, still to observe their indefatigable zeal, their immovable 
fidelity to order, to repel the overtures of the anarchists, and 
to obey sincerely the commands of the authorities charged 
with the defence of the country. We exhort you, dear breth- 
ren in Christ, to be of unflinching fidelity to your country, of 
courageous devotion in her defence, of sincere obedience to the 
authorities, who, in this hour of danger, are obliged to ask of 
you more than ordinary services. Be convinced, that they are 
endeavoring to win your liberty, and with it your earthly hap- 
piness. Consider it your most sacred duty, to submit your- 
selves to the legal authorities of the country, to live amongst 
them in peace and love, mutually to assist each other, to sus- 
tain the weak, to encourage the timid, to punish the enemies 
of order!'"' 

The language of the prelates stirred the heart of the whole 
nation. The Catholics were completely committed by it to 
the measures about to be adopted. The Protestants them- 
selves, many of whom had still hoped for some possible recon- 
ciliation, were rendered more unanimous by it. If the Catho- 
lics, said the wavering of every name and order, cannot endure 
the conduct of the king, it is time every man should begin to 
look narrowly at his lukewarmness. If the Catholic prelacy, 
the proverbial supporters of a strong government, the historical 
defenders of despotism, cannot brook the severity of the pre- 
sent tyranny, it must be indeed a tyranny. The whole land 
was roused. Every citizen began to speak openly and bitterly 
of the base and dangerous trick, which, it was beginning to 
be generally believed, had been played upon the nation by the 
monarch. No words can do justice to the excitement. The 
whole country was transformed to one universal magazine of 
every species of combustible ; and there was wanting but a 
single spark to give to it a general and terrible explosion. 



Pulsky's Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. ii. pp. 46-49. 

28* 



330 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

That spark fell at the fatal moment. Just at this crisis, while 
a commission of the National Assembly was in the act of re- 
vising the archives of the Palatine Archduke Stephen, a letter 
was discovered, written by the Palatine to Ferdinand, and 
dated the 24th of March, 1848, which demonstrated the trea- 
sonable designs of the emperor beyond the possibility of a 
contradiction. It proved, that the king and his representative 
were conspiring, early in the spring, in order to defeat the 
liberal measures of the patriots, how they might overthrow 
the Hungarian nationality and independence. Three plans 
were presented and drawn out in detail : " 1 shall at present 
attempt," says the Palatine, " in a few words, to bring forward 
the three measures, by which alone I hope to be able to attain 
any result in Hungary. The first measure would be, to with- 
draw the whole armed force from the country, and to leave it 
a prey to total devastation — to look on passively upon the 
disorders and fire-raisings — and also upon the struggles be- 
tween nobles and peasants, and so forth." The meaning is, 
of course, that, after having roused to madness the difierent 
races against the Magyars, the Hungarian troops should be 
drawn entirely from the country, that there might be no obstacle 
to a total annihilation of that democratic people. " The second 
measure would be," continues the Palatine, " to enter into 
negotiations with Count Batthidnyi, concerning the motions 
to be brought forward for laws, and to save every thing that 
can be saved." The sense of this is, that, if possible, Bat- 
thianyi was to have been bribed to desert the cause of the 
patriotic party, of which he was then a leader, and to give up 
his abused country to the discretion of its monarch. " Lastly," 
concludes the conspirator, " the third measure would be, to 
recall the Palatine and send a Koyal Commissary to Pressburg, 
invested with extraordinary power, and accompanied by a con- 
siderable military force, who, after dissolving the Diet there, 
should proceed to Pesth, and carry on the government with an 
iron handj aa long as circumstances should permit." This 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 331 

item in the plan needs no comment. It is simply a proposal 
to annihilate the laws and constitution at a stroke and to erect 
in their stead a military dict^atorship. So it seems, therefore, 
that, from the very beginning, when the liberal measures of 
the IMagyar National Assembly were only matters of debate, 
the king's party had resolved, in one of three ways, to destroy 
them in the bud by breaking down the independence and 
being of the obnoxious people. No sooner, however, did this 
conspiracy, so long kept a secret, get wind among the Hun- 
garian people, than every man, not heretofore in-ecoverably 
committed in the opposition, was up in a passion of patriotic 
indignation. The whole mystery of the spring and summer 
was doubly solved. It was clearly seen, that each of the three 
ways of suppressing the liberal designs and doings of the 
Hungarian nation had been tried, though not in the order 
mentioned in the letter of the Palatine. In the first place, 
Batthi4nyi had been tampered with ; but the count had beeiL 
too inflexible for the enemies of his country. Next, the races 
had been roused to an internecine war among themselves, 
while the troops, which should have protected the kingdom 
from such a disaster, were employed in Italy in fighting the 
battles of the reaction. Lastly, at a most critical moment, 
when the desertion of a commander was the most dangerous, 
the Palatine had abandoned his supreme post in the Hun- 
garian army, in order to make way for the appointment of 
Jellachich, who, as Royal Commissary with the powers of a 
Dictator, was now about entering the kingdom to carry on the 
government with his hand of iron ! ^ 

When the massacre of Vienna was completed, the army of 
the imperialists was ready to follow up its fortune in the 
attack and subjugation of the Hungarian kingdom. There 
was only one obstacle. Ferdinand, in his coronation oath, 
had sworn to maintain and defend the liberties and integrity 

^ Pulsky's Mem. Hung. Lady, vol. ii. pp. 95-102. 



332 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

of the country. He had recently sworn to observe, as well as 
cause to be observed, the late laws of the National Assembly, 
by which the nation had been thrown into such a transport of 
hope and happiness. It was impossible to deny these solemn 
pledges. It was impossible to make the European world for- 
get them. So long as he could carry on a rebellion, like that 
raised by Jellachich, by secret intrigues, he had hoped to avoid 
public scandal. One open act of perjury, however, would be 
sure to ruin him with all people. Indeed, by the revelations 
already made, his character for common honesty was gone for 
ever. He knew it. Austria knew it. Other nations would 
soon know it. He had forfeited his place. Nothing was left 
to him but to quit it. On the 2d of December, therefore, 
Ferdinand, emperor of Austria, weighed down with sin and 
covered with infamy as with a garment, resigned a scepter, 
which, for half a generation, he had made the scepter of a 
tyrant. His brother, Francis Charles, the first heir to the 
vacant throne, renounced his right in favor of his eldest son. 
That son, Francis Joseph, a youth of only nineteen years, 
without talents, without experience, without a knowledge of 
the world, and, consequently, a fit instrument for the use of 
other men, was immediately proclaimed. No oaths, no pledges, 
no personal obligations, now lay in the path of those, who 
were determined, by the bloodiest of means, to blot the name 
and being of Hungary from the globe. 

The situation of the kingdom was, at this time, very critical. 
It was entirely surrounded by its foes. On the north was 
general Sehlick, with a strong army, marching down upon the 
devoted land. General Puchner, supported by the rebellious 
"VVallachians, held undisputed possession of Transylvania on 
the east. The corps of general Nugent, fresh for any sort of 
movement, was advancing northward from the valley of the 
Drave. From the west, flushed with victory, poured down 
the seventy thousand soldiers of the maddened Windischgrats, 
reinforced by the troops of Jellachich, who came down resolved 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH, 333 

to wipe out the disgrace of his late defeat, by an achievement 
worthy of his rage. Between the four cardinal points, other 
bodies of no small strength ■jvere co-operating with the general 
attack. Nine armies, indeed, at this fearful crisis, constituted 
the military cordon, by which the whole land was girded. 
The plan of the campaign was the plan of common hunters, 
when they go in overpowering numbers against pestiferous 
beasts, and when they wish to have a slaughter, rather than a 
hunt. The plan was to surround and enclose the game, then, 
gradually contracting the circle of their operations, crowding 
their victims into the narrowest area, to murder them by whole- 
sale, and so exterminate them at one powerful stroke. 

Against this mighty combination, the Hungarians were very 
inadequately prepared to act. In the country of the Serbs, 
who were still in insurrection, there was an army of twenty 
thousand men. In the north of Hungary, under the command 
of Dembinski, a Polish general, were about eight thousand 
more. Transylvania could not depend upon more than six 
thousand able-bodied troops. Under general Gorgey, on the 
west of Hungary, the only defence of the nation against the 
combined forces of Windischgrats and Jellachich, were still 
mustered about thirty thousand, who were chiefly volunteers. 
Three of the great fortresses of the country — Arad, Temesvar, 
and Esseg — were in the hands of the imperialists. There was 
but little powder in the country. There was scarcely any 
sulphur to be had. Lead was plenty, for the peasant had only 
to dig it from the mines ; but muskets, rifles, swords, and all 
other military weapons, could not be purchased for more than 
fifty or sixty thousand men. The rest of the army of defence 
had to arm themselves with hay-forks, pruning-hooks, and 
scythes.^ 

' They had a large importation of weapons at Vienna, but Mes- 
senhausser had refused to let them pass, fearing he might provoke 
the suspicions of his enemies, that he was acting in concert with the 
Hungarians ! 



334 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

With all her lack, however, Hungary had one advantage ot 
her foes. She had a man, who, in peace and in war, has 
proved himself to be the greatest genius of his times. She 
had a man, whose counsels were adequate to instnict, whose 
lips were eloquent to rouse, and whose hand was ever ready 
for its work. Hungary had Kossuth. In the month of Octo- 
ber, after the resignation of Batthianyi and the appointment 
of Jellachich, Kossuth had been made President of the Com- 
mittee of Defence. In this capacity he was now exerting 
himself in a manner to excite the admiration of both his ene- 
mies and his friends. His enemies, indeed, were very few. 
His friends were as numerous as the friends of the newly- 
established freedom of his native land. His energy, his 
purity, his patriotism, had silenced nearly all opposition. His 
popularity was almost unbounded. He was the soul of every 
movement. Now, when the nation was threatened from so 
many quarters, his activity became an astonishment to his 
countrymen. To supply the soldiery with arms, he turned the 
fortresses, which had not been lost, into armories, where the 
rattle and thunder of machinery were heard continually. To 
supply them with ammunition, he extracted sulphur from the 
sulphuret of iron. To supply them with their stipulated pay, 
he organized a national bank, without capital, but pledging 
the faith of the commonwealth, that the paper should be re- 
deemed when the liberties of the country should be won. To 
supply them with ideas, with plans, he studied and wrote day 
and night, and yet seemed to have no time for study, as he 
was always present at every place of special interest at every 
time of need. To supply them with enthusiasm, he flew over 
the kingdom, in all directions, delivering those wonderfully 
eloquent addresses, which, without any other labor, would have 
been business enough for any ordinary man. From this 
period, indeed, Kossuth and Hungary were the same. 

The time for the great invasion had now arrived. The word 
was given around the whole cordon of the invading armies. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 335 

All the armies advanced slowly and cautiously toward the 
center of the kingdom. To that center the forces of the 
patriots were obliged to gather. To that center the inhabit- 
ants fled for safety. There, on the banks of the Theiss, the 
Hungarians prepared to make their great defence of every 
thing that God had given them. The National Assembly re- 
moved from Pesth to Debreczin. Kossuth and his colleagues 
there established their official sittings. There factories arose, 
as by enchantment, for the manufacture of military weapons. 
There, also, the last attempt at a reconciliation with the Aus- 
trian government was made, at the instance of the conserva- 
tives, and with Kossuth's consent. There the nation heard, 
by public rumor, and by the proclamations of Windischgrats, 
that the messengers of peace had been imprisoned by the 
proud imperialist, that other gross insults had been heaped 
upon the unoflfending kingdom, and that no reconciliation was 
possible, excepting on the basis of renouncing for ever the 
constitution, laws, liberties, and independence of the country. 
It was there, too, that the last conservative abandoned his 
opposition, and threw himself into the arms of Kossuth, ac- 
knowledging and celebrating the sagacity of the statesman, 
and swearing to stand by him till Hungary should be a garden, 
or a desert. There was need enough of all this resolution. 
The invaders daily drew their circle of operations smaller and 
smaller, watching a favorable opportunity for dashing through 
the lines of the Hungarians, to begin the slaughter of the 
nation. Closer and closer the area of free Hungary became 
every day. Outside of the military circle there was nothing 
but tyranny, confiscations and executions. Within it, there 
was that bravery that arises from despair, when a whole peo-- 
ple, conscious of the right, are determined to demand and 
receive the price of their destruction. Within that circle, 
there was that courage, which, under a series of disasters, re- 
mained undaunted. In the south, Perczel lost the battle of 
Moor, while hastening to join the general encampment. On 



336 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the east, the whole of Transylvania was surrendered to the 
Austrians, who, led by Puchner, had been strengthened by a 
force of fifteen thousand Russians. On the north, Dembinski, 
now the commander-in-chief, was overpowered by the superior 
numbers under Schlick. From the west, the gros of the im- 
perial army pushed forward toward the Magyar capital, driving 
Gorgey before them, who, after several bloody engagements, 
was obliged to abandon Pressburg, Tirnau, Kasimir, Alten- 
burg, Raab, Buda, and even Pesth itself. Meszaros was en- 
tirely defeated at Kassau. From all sides the patriots retreated 
inwardly to the Theiss. As day followed day, the circumfe- 
rence of free Hungary became less and less. But, as the 
people and the soldiers were crowded closer together, and their 
common fate became more imminent, the hereditary valor of 
the nation rose to a higher and higher pitch. From the 16th 
of December, when the campaign commenced, to the 31st of 
January, nearly every step taken by the imperialists was a 
step of victory, and nearly every order issued by the patriot 
generals was an order to retreat. Yet, in the midst of all these 
discouragements, there was hourly forming, in the hearts of the 
Magyars, a common determination to fall, if fall they must, man- 
fully fighting against despotism the battles of human freedom. 

On the 1st of January, a Council of War was held under 
the presidency of general Vetter, who, after the defeat and 
resignation of Dembinski, had been raised to the command of 
the Hungarian army. A halt was ordered to all the patriot 
forces. They were to retreat no longer. A plan of operations 
was laid down. It received Kossuth's sanction. Offensive 
movements were to be made in different directions. The 
circular line of the invasion was to be broken at all hazards. 
It was to be broken at various points ; and the several seg- 
ments were to be individually cut to pieces. 

In the prosecution of this plan, Gorgey, with that coolness 
of deliberation and impetuosity of movement, which formed 
so singular a contrast in his disposition, resolved to burst 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 337 

through all opposition, in a northerly direction, and get in the 
rear of the invaders. This brilliant resolution was entirely 
successful. Putting himself into perfect preparation, he broke 
forth upon the city of Waitzen, repulsed the enemy with great 
slaughter, fought every step of his way from Waitzen to 
Ipoljsag, thence pushed through the mountains into the 
Zips county, turned round and cut the line again on bis road 
to Eperies, where, after fortifying his position, he opened a 
communication, by the help of general Guyon, witb the go- 
vernment at Debreczin. Klapka, on getting the news of these 
successes, advanced to meet Gorgey, thus holding the im- 
perialists under Schlick between the two patriot commanders. 
Schlick, seeing his danger, fled for safety to the nearest corps 
of Austrians, thus leaving a wide gap in the circle of the in- 
vasion, with, two able Magyars to defend it. 

In pursuance of the same plan, Bern, gathering a little band 
of five or six thousand men, dashed through the line of the 
enemy on the east, forced his way into Transylvania, reinforced 
bis troops, attacked the Austrians and Russians under Puch- 
ner, defeated him in one engagement after another, till there 
was but a miserable remnant left of him, and then chased that 
remnant over the frontier. 

Perczel, co-operating with the general enterprise, left the 
corps of Dembinski, under whom he had been temporarily 
serving, marched southwardly toward Szegedin, passed onward 
to the attack of Sz. Tamas, whicb he took by storm, carried 
the celebrated Roman entrenchments, behind which the Serbs 
had maintained a strong position, relieved the garrison of 
Peterwarasdein, drove the Servian rebels into Titel, restored 
the ascendency of the nation in the Banat, and settled down 
to keep possession of his conquest without the fear of success- 
ful opposition. 

This being done, Gorgey, after taking a little rest, rushed 
down through the centre of the common battle-field, defeated 
Jellachich at Isaszeg, passed the <jros of the Austrian army 

29 



388 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

near Pesth, tlie second time attacked and carried Waitzen, 
crossed the Gran in the face of a powerful opposition, thus 
drawing the imperialists from the suffering capital, met and 
cut to pieces a corps of twenty thousand Austrians at Nagy 
Sarlo, drove the main army before him as far as Raab, and 
entered the gates of the far-famed fortress of Komorn covered 
with the glory of his deeds. 

While these feats of unrivaled bravery were being executed, 
similar things were done, by several other commanders, near 
the center of operations. General Vecsey had beaten the 
enemy at Szolnok. General Gospar, with the little corps left 
by Gorgey in the north, had defeated Schlick, and driven him 
to the borders of the land. General Aulich, pushing into the 
capital as the Austrians were retiring from it, was received 
with enthusiasm by the entire population, while the Danube 
was burthened with the military stores, which the imperialists 
hastily floated out of the kingdom upon its bosom. In all 
directions, nothing could be seen, but fragments of Austrian 
armies, and the friends of the Austrian government, making 
what speed they could to effect their escape beyond the limits 
of the kingdom. On the 26th of April, 1849, after a series 
of victories seldom if ever paralleled on the page of history, 
Hungary stood forth before the world, a free, an independent, 
and a glorious country. On the 4th of March, Austria had 
published her imperial constitution, by which the Magyar 
kingdom was pronounced and treated as a dependent province. 
On the 19 th of April following, in consideration of this ter- 
rible invasion, and because the young emperor openly refused 
to receive the crown of St. Stephen in the legal manner, by 
swearing to maintain the separateness and integrity of the na- 
tion, Hungary had published her Declaration of Independence. 
Now, at the conclusion of all these triumphs, she had proved 
herself worthy of the declaration. Excepting a few garrisons, 
which could not conveniently escape, not an Austrian remained 
in Hungary to dispute it ! 



HUNGARY AND KOSSVTH. 339 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE PALL OF HUNGARY. 

Three separate wars bad thus arisen against the unoffend- 
ing Hungarians. The Serbs, assisted by the Wallachians, 
had risen upon their Magyar fellow-citizens. The Croats, 
aided by the Sclavonians, had rebelled against the Magyar 
nation. The Austrians, the authors of both these feuds, 
uniting and employing both, had made their deadliest onset 
against the Magyar nationality and independence. Three 
times the Magyars had prevailed against all opposition. Three 
times they had defended the cause of Euroj)ean liberty in her 
chosen sanctuary. Three times the cause of despotism, up- 
held by duplicity and falsehood, had been broken. Hungary, 
having defeated and routed all her enemies, had become really 
a land of freedom. 

As the defenders of the nation, under the command of 
Aulich, marched into the streets of Pesth, the whole capital 
came out to welcome them with songs and garlands. The 
superior officers were loaded with panegyrics. The lower 
officers were overwhelmed with praises. The rough-looking 
soldiers, who had for months seen nothing but the worst of 
hardships, were everywhere met by the little children, and 
covered all over with the flowers of April. The city had long 
been in bondage. All the people rejoiced and wept, as well 
they might, in meeting, for the fii'st time after the close of the 
great struggle, their scarred and wayworn relatives — their 
fathers, husbands, sons — who, by many a bloody battle, had 
saved the free institutions of their common country. Such, 
too, was the joy of the whole kingdom. It was a period of 
universal gratitude. 



840 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH, 

If there was any person, wliose joy was not complete, that 
person was the great Kossuth. And what, it may well be 
asked, could he want, which he had not received ? He was 
now the idol of the nation. He had recovered, from the grasp 
of its hereditary tyrants, its original constitution. He had so 
extended the meaning and benefits of that constitution, as to 
make every inhabitant, poor as well as rich, peasant as much 
as prince, an equal participant of its blessings. He had car- 
ried the country through three wars successfully, all of which 
had been raised against it, merely because it had set out anew 
on the path of popular and equal liberty. The people of that 
country, gTateful for his services, had raised him to the highest 
position in their gift. They had paid him a homage given to 
no man, by any people, since the days of Washington. Could 
he, in reason, ask any thing more of them ? No, not any 
thing. Nor did he ask any thing more of them. Still, he 
was not entirely happy. His thoughts were too wide, his 
vision was too extended, to allow him to drink from an un- 
mixed cup, so long as he retained a recollection of the his- 
torical tactics of his country's enemies. He knew the charac- 
ter of the Austrians. He knew the resources of a despot, 
who has no scruples to restrain him. He well knew, that, if 
there was a mercenary army in all Europe, or an ambitious 
monarch holding any of its scepters, the representative and 
heir of the House of Hapsburg would not fail to subsidize, to 
bribe, to promise, till another invasion, fourfold stronger than 
the first, should come down to make a final sweep of the laws, 
liberties and institutions of the democratic nation. 

There was another reason why Kossuth, with all his honors 
on him, could not rejoice as freely as did the masses of his 
people. He saw danger rising from the ranks of the nation's 
liberators. He saw an unsanctified ambition springing up, 
which, unless checked — and he beheld no way to check it — 
would be sure to bring disaster, should there be another day 
of peril. He saw a man, whom he had himself raised from 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 341 

obscurity as a reward for -military merit, whose deeds on the 
field of battle had indeed been the deeds of a hero, but whose 
very successes were pampering a spirit of supreme selfishness, 
which was almost certain, under a temptation, to grow up into 
the rankest treason. That man was Arthur Gorgey, who, 
since the defeat of Schwechat, had been the Ajax, or the 
Gonsalvo, of the army. His feats of bravery had never been 
surpassed in the wars of any period. His daring, however, 
had in no case reached to rashness. There was a foresight in 
his mental composition, which, added to his courage, had made 
him almost invariably successful. His talent at giving form 
and firmness to an irregular body of recruits, such as consti- 
tuted nearly the whole of the Hungarian forces, was wonder- 
ful. His will was a will of iron. Nothing could move him 
from his purposes. In any undertaking, if the first attempt 
happened to be unsuccessful, he would repeat it to the twentieth 
time, before he would give up his resolution. Nor would he, 
after ever so many proofs of the difficulties of a first plan of 
efibrt, change it for another, however clearly he might be con- 
vinced that a change could be efiected to his advantage. Con- 
quer he could, and conquer he would, at any amount of hazard, 
exactly as he had at first determined. Such was the imperi- 
ousness of his disposition, that, when he had learned his su- 
periority over the ablest of his enemies, his veiy friends found 
it impossible to govern him. Admired, and neai-ly worshiped, 
by the entire body of the Hungarian army, as every great 
general is admired and worshiped by his soldiers, he treated 
his comrades in command with every degree of contempt from 
insolence to indifference ; and yet, such is the impunity of 
great genius, such the adoration paid it, that this mode of 
treating his associates scarcely lessened the amount of defer- 
ence they showed him. He soon began to break away from 
the orders of the government. He despised the calculations, 
as he said, of a set of peaceable gentlemen, who had hardly 
ever seen a battle. " Kossuth alone," he remarked in a letter 

29* 



842 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

to bis friend Klapka, " is a classical and generous character." 
But lie soon outgrew his respect for Kossuth. " It is a pity- 
he is not a soldier I" Grorgey had no abiding admiration of 
any thing bxit militaiy genius; and be saw no man around 
him equal to himself as the leader of an army. At that 
fearful crisis, too, when the tactics of the National Assembly 
had been mostly superseded by the tactics of the field of con- 
flict, when words had been turned to bullets, he clearly saw 
and felt, that the army, and not the legislature, represented 
the power of the nation. As the chief spirit of the army, 
therefore, he drew into himself the prerogatives of a ruler, 
until he considered himself able to cope with the mighty but 
unselfish Kossuth. Kossuth, by this time, began to under- 
stand the towering and unprincipled ambition of the general ; 
but he was ready to forget the faults, if he could employ the 
abilities, of his self-constituted rival. He was ready even to 
resign his authority, and give it into the hands of Grorgey, if 
the nation wished it. The nation did not wish it. It wished 
only, that the two great men of the revolution would act in 
concert, and so save it from destruction. Kossuth made every 
exertion, and every sacrifice, that could be expected of a great 
and magnanimous patriot, in order to soothe the temper and 
satisfy the ambition of his opponent. He gave him the chief 
command of the Hungarian armies. He made him his Secre- 
tary of War, thus clothing him with more than his share of 
the sovereignty of the nation. No sooner, however, did the 
aspirant get possession of this two-fold influence, thus mag- 
nanimously conferred upon him, than he retired to his head- 
quarters and began to set himself up, not as the coadjutor of 
the great and generous statesman, but in an attitude of defi- 
ance to the civil government. 

It is easy, therefore, now to understand the reason, why 
Gorgey refused to co-operate with Kossuth in a scheme of 
operations, which has been since pronounced, by all military 
men, the only one by which it was at all possible to save the 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 343 

kingdom. Kossuth, still adhering to his former policy, advo- 
cated the necessity of pursuing the flying Austrians into their 
own territory, and even to, the ramparts of their democratic 
capital. "They are now," he said, "defeated. They feel 
dispirited and broken. Windischgriits, satisfied of the hope- 
lessness of his undertaking, has been recalled, and his com- 
mand has been given to general Welden. Vienna is as full 
as ever of devoted democrats. They have been maddened to 
phrenzy by the recent executions. They are more than ever 
ready to welcome us to their streets as liberators. Now is the 
time to press hotly after the disheartened fugitives. Let us 
crush our opponents while the panic is yet on them. Let us 
rush to the imperial capital, raise the standard of the Austriaji 
and Hungarian people, and jointly hold the authority of the 
state, till we can get our rights legally guaranteed in the most 
solemn and satisfactory manner. By the time this great deed 
is done, the few garrisons of the enemy still left among us, 
kept by the surrounding populations within the rayon of their 
respective fortresses, will be starved into a willingness of offer- 
ing, instead of receiving, terms of capitulation." 

Such was Kossuth's plan of operations ; and, as in so many 
other instances, subsequent events have demonstrated the 
soundness of his reasoning. Gbrgey, however, was not the 
man to act upon a scheme laid down for him by one, who, with 
all his abilities, was not a soldier. He opposed the Governor. 
" He wished first," he said, " to clear the country of her last 
enemy, before he went on a hunt for others, who had fled to 
their own lands for safety. The fugitives had been once de- 
feated. They were worthy of no attention so long as they 
acknowledged their defeat by flying. At home, however, there 
were yet some, who deserved the notice of the patriotic army. 
What true-hearted Magyar could consent to show himself 
abroad, when his foes were quartered near his own domicil, 
bidding defiance to the nation to dislodge them ? What 
genuine son of Hungary, what descendant of the heroic 



344 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Arpad, can afford to see tlie soil of Lis native land polluted 
by the foot-prints of a solitary Austrian ? And there is Buda, 
the great national fortress, the Gibraltar of the country, the 
time-honored capital, full of the renown and glory of former 
ages, sacred to the use of Magyar liberty, now trampled by 
the unholy feet of our oppressors ! Shall we leave the temple 
of the nation's independence in the hands of those, who will 
boast of the possession so long as they have a historian or a 
poet, and go running after wind-mill battles, whose success, it 
is true, would be easy enough, but whose results would be 
nearly useless ! No, my countrymen, no ! I am a Hungarian ! 
I am fighting in the cause of the Hungarians ! The Hun- 
garians care nothing about the Austrians, except as they are 
here to trouble us ! And here they are ; but here they shall 
be no longer ! If my blood is wanted, every drop of it shall 
be shed, or there shall not be long, in all Hungary, a solitary 
foe to our glorious constitution to contaminate the dust he 
stands on I" 

This superficial but captivating style of argument carried 
the Hungarian army. ,, It revived, also, the old party of the 
conservatives in the National Assembly. It was an appeal to 
the military vanity of the nation. Kossuth, though he had 
the power to pursue his own plan, hoped that the capture of 
the great fortress would satisfy the ambition of his rival, and 
that there might still be time to reach the camp of the Aus- 
trians, and cut them to pieces, before they could restore the 
courage of the hostile troops, or concentrate reinforcements. 
He hoped to re-unite the two great parties, into which the 
country was again divided, on one common system of opera- 
tions. To divide the people, or to leave them thus divided, 
he clearly saw, would be to ruin them. His greatness of soul 
was such, that he found no difl&culty in yielding temporarily 
to the stubbornness of an opponent, if he could see any good 
to his country coming from a personal concession. The dif- 
ference between him and his antagonist was fundamental. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 345 

Kossuth was ready to sacrifice himself, at any moment and a 
thousand times, as he was only fighting the battles of his 
country for the sake of liberty. Gorgey sacrificed nothing, 
not even his opinion, but was pursuing the bent of his natural 
disposition, for the sake of his aggrandizement. Kossuth 
needed just such a soldier as the unconquerable Gorgey. 
Gorgey needed just such a leader as the high-minded and 
patriotic Kossuth. The country needed them both. It could 
with difficulty survive without them. But it needed them 
united. Had they been united — had Gorgey' s military prowess 
been patriotically submitted to a perfect co-operation with the 
far-seeing statesmanship of Kossuth — Hungary, at this mo- 
ment, would have been as independent as Great Britain, as 
democratic as America, as free as the winds that sweep over 
her. 

The Hungarian general, obstinately adhering to his own 
plan, relinquished the chance of making a complete conquest 
of Austria, for the sake of the renown to be acquired by the 
fall of Buda. Three-fourths of the brave little army were 
drawn from the track of the imperial fugitives to settle down 
around the ramparts of the old Magyar capital. On the 4th 
of May, Gorgey demanded the immediate surrender of the 
fortress. On the same day, general Henzi, the commander 
of the fort, returned a peremptory refusal. At one o'clock, 
on the 16th of May, a. fearful assault was made by the Mag- 
yar troops; but they were repulsed with considerable slaughter. 
The attack was repeated, precisely as before made, on the 21st, 
when Gorgey had the satisfaction of sending a dispatch to the 
new seat of government beginning in the most triumphant 
language : " The Hungarian colors are flying from the towers 
of Buda castle !" It was indeed a victory ; but it was one 
of those victories, which, gratifying for the moment as they 
may be, cost too much to the victors. General Henzi, it is 
true, had fallen and been trodden beneath the feet of his 
assailants. The garrison, after suffering a heavy loss, had 



346 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



submitted ; but twentj-six days Lad thus been sacrificed to a 
useless undertaking, while the Austrians had been left to make 
all needful preparations for their final and fatal invasion of 
the country. They had gathered their flying and straggling 
bands together. They had reduced the united army to the 
severest discipline. They had obtained powerful -reinforce- 
ments of native troops, and the first instalment of one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand Russian soldiers. They had again 
changed their commander, in order to get the man best suited 
to the emergency ; and now that man, the blood-thirsty Hay- 
nau, with an immediate force of about one hundred thousand, 
was about to plunge into the heart of Hungary, determined 
to awe the nation into a peaceable submission, or butcher the 
inhabitants to the very last of those offering resistance.^ 

Such was the fatal obstinacy of Grorgey. The other gene- 
rals had made the month of May somewhat memorable by a 
series of minor victories. Bern had defeated general Mal- 
kowski, the commander of ten thousand men, and driven him 
from the Banat into Wallachia. Perczel had fought several 
battles, besieged Temesvar, and reduced Titel, the last place 
held by the rebellious Serbs on the lower Danube. Dem- 
bijQski had kept undisputed possession of the north of Hun- 
gary. Hatvani, it is true, in his ill-starred adventure against 
the Wallachians of Transylvania, had been repulsed. But 
this was a solitary mishap in the monthly calendar. Every- 
where else, from east to west, from north to south, the army 
of the patriots had maintained its triumphant attitude. 

At the end of the first week in June, the armies of the 
Austro-Russian invasion had taken their positions on the fron- 
tiers of the doomed and unhappy country. In the great camp 
at Pressburg were fifty thousand Austrians, and twenty-five 
thousand Russians, under the immediate command of Haynau. 
In the Styrian city of Pettau, near the south-west limits of 



' Klapka's War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 33-50. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 347 

the kingdom, general Nugent had concentrated a force of about 
twenty thousand. On the north-west, through the pass of 
Arva, a body of nearly twenty thousand Russians, commanded 
by general Grabbe, had entered Hungary and taken up their 
position in the mountains. On the north-east, around the 
celebrated pass of Dukla, prince Paskieyicz stood with about 
seventy-five thousand Russians. In Transylvania, on the far 
east, under Riidigers and Ltiders, were forty thousand Rus- 
sians supported by fourteen thousand more, not far away, under 
the command of general Clam-Gallas. On the lower Danube, 
in south-eastern Hungary, were seventy-six thousand Wal- 
lachians and Serbs, in three divisions, which were commanded 
by Jank, Rajacsicz and Stratimirovicz. From the banks of 
the Drave, along the southern boundary, Jellachich was 
marching with a force of fifty thousand Sclavonians and 
Croats. An army, in a word, of about three hundred and 
seventy thousand men, the best disciplined troops in Europe, 
fully equipped, well paid and fed, and headed by the ablest 
generals within the limits of two empires, had formed another 
cordon around the land of the liberty -loving Magyars, who 
had just been suffering by several expensive and bloody efforts 
in the defence of their hereditary freedom. It was a high 
compliment to their bravery, unintentional as it was, that, 
weakened as they had been by three civil wars, so large a force 
was now deemed essential to their subjugation. ° 

In opposition to this fearful array of soldiers, the Hun- 
garians could offer, at this time, only about fifty thousand 
men. These were divided into eight corps, and so distributed 
as to face the enemy at every point, where an entrance into 
the country was expected. They were so arranged, also, in 

' Klapka, Pragay and other Hungarian writers, .witliout the possi- 
bility of any concert, have given almost identical statements of the 
forces of the enemy. Pragay's numbers exceed those of Klapka. 
Klapka's War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 70-79, and Pragay's Hungarian 
Struggle, pp. 74-75. 



348 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTU. 

reference to each otber, that they formed a circular camp 
passing nearly around the entire border of the kingdom, with 
the fortress of Komorn, pronounced by Bonaparte to be im- 
pregnable, as the point dlapni of operations. This starting- 
point, then occupied by only six thousand men, was com- 
manded by general Klapka. In a north-easterly direction, 
along the valleys of the Neutra and the Waag, the first, second 
and third corps had taken up several advantageous situations, 
which, by the help of the small corps under colonel Horvath and 
major Armin Gorgey, a brother of the great general, extended 
still farther to the north, till they communicated with the 
camp of Dembinski, the sentinel of the pass of Arva. Toward 
the south-east, the seventh and eighth corps, united by the 
division commanded by Kmetty, stretched up the valley of the 
Raab, from the city of that name, near the banks of the 
Danube, through Teth, Marczalto, and other towns, nearly to 
the waters of the Drave. Perczel, with a small force, was 
still on the lower Danube, in the Banat, and communicated 
with the forces on the Raab, as well as with the troops on the 
borders of Transylvania under Bem. In different parts of the 
country, but particularly around the margin of the Flatten 
Lake, and in northern Hungary, the army was seconded by 
voluntary risings of the people, who, seeing the impending 
danger, had begun to arm and discipline themselves for the 
coming struggle. 

It was not the numerical superiority of the enemy, how- 
ever, that rendered the third invasion of the soil of Hungary 
so formidable. The races and religions of two despotic na- 
tions, thus combined against the race, religion and liberty of 
the Magyar, gave it a fearful influence among the sects and 
nationalities of the kingdom. It was a combination of the 
Sclave and German against the Hun, of the Roman and Greek 
Catholics against the Protestants, no less than of the two 
champions of absolutism in Europe against democratic princi- 
ples. The emperor of Austria could march into the country 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 349 

as the acknowledged champion of the Roman Catholics ; he 
could go there as the countryman and defender of the Grer- 
mans. The emperor of th.e Russias, upon crossing the fron- 
tier, would be revered as the head of the Sclavic nationalities, 
whose existence had been almost deified by the Sclavic Hun- 
garians, whose name had been mingled in their devotions from 
the days of infancy. For reasons not otherwise explained, 
than by the prejudices of race and a common faithj the Saxons 
of Transylvania, as well as nearly all the Germans of the 
kingdom, had refused to serve as soldiers during the Austro- 
Croatian invasion; and though the Roman Catholic Sclaves 
of the north of Hungary, and the Roman Catholics of every 
part of it, had united with the Magyars in driving off the 
Greek Sclaves of the southern provinces, in the first invasion, 
who could tell what the same populations would do, when the 
battle was to be between the Protestant Magyars, on the one 
hand, and the German and Sclavic Catholics, Greek and Ro- 
man, on the other? The Hungarian army, indeed, was filled 
with Greek Sclaves and Roman Germans; but what man could 
tell, whether, when they should find themselves arrayed against 
people of their own faith and blood, they would not desert 
their standards at the hour of peril ? Perhaps, in the heat 
of the war, when their help would be the most essential, they 
would go over to their kindred and fellow-sectaries, and betray 
the once envied and hated Magyar, after all his unexampled 
generosity. If the army, therefore, could not be trusted, no- 
thing could be trusted. Hungary must sink ; and the cause 
of democratic liberty, in the south of Europe, must perish 
with her ! 

Such was the state of things at the opening of the final 
contest. Every Magyar saw it. Every Magyar felt, that, at 
this fearful crisis, whatever help might be promised by the 
other races and religions, the Protestant Magyars alone could 
be certainly depended on in the day of trial. The Protestant 
Magyars were the fountain-head of democratic principles to 

30 



350 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the nation. Their kindred, it is true, of the Catholic faith, 
though naturally constituting the strength of the conservative 
party, had been nearly converted to the ideas of the more 
liberal and enlightened portion of the race. If any thing was 
to be expected of the other inhabitants, the expectation was 
to be realized by infusing into their souls the same love of 
liberty, which the Magyars had just immortalized by the pas- 
sage of their recent laws. They were to be educated into the 
doctrines of human freedom by the powerful exertions of those 
already free. This was the creed of Kossuth. On this, he 
had acted from the first. The Magyars by blood, and such as 
could be made Magyars, by being properly enlightened, were 
his only hope. The work of a century, however, had to be 
completed within the compass of a few weeks ; and there was 
no one so capable of accomplishing it as himself. He, indeed, 
was the main-spring of every movement. All the business 
of the nation had gradually fallen into his hands. Every thing 
had to be done by him. His activity was almost miraculous. 
It would be impossible for any person, not an eye-witness, to 
give a true picture of his daily life at this alarming moment ; 
and it is fortunate, that one who saw him constantly has given 
to the world a minute description of his habits St this time. 
The account is worthy of preservation to the latest age : " I 
hardly know where to begin," says the writer, who was one 
of the governor's private secretaries, ^' as there is hardly ever 
a pause in the course of his activity to start from ; but, for 
example, I will write down the doings of yesterday. Yester- 
day morning, after I had breakfasted, I hastened to the chan- 
cery — that is, to Kossuth's house — which contains four apart- 
ments, his sleeping chamber, a parlor, the chancery where we 
foiir secretaries have our places, and a small room for copyists. 
Three couriers with dispatches were in the room as I entered ; 
and Kossuth sat in his usual place, with a pen in his right 
hand, and in the left the dispatches just brought him. I had 
come rather late, for it was already a quarter past five o'clock; 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 351 

and another secretary had prepared, in my place, two dis- 
patches, which had been sent off at five. As I went in, he 
was occupied in several ways. His hand was writing ; his 
mouth was dictating; his eye glanced at and read the open 
dispatches ; and his mind directed and followed all the opera- 
tions of his servants. He looked paler and more sick than 
usual. A glass of medicine stood at his side, of which he 
tasted from time to time, as if the mixture were the means of 
keeping up his physical existence. Indeed, though I have 
often worked at his side, from early in the morning till late at 
night, I do not remember having seen him stop to take any 
nourishment excepting this mixture; and though he does 
sometimes eat, I can assure you that the quantity of food 
consumed by him would hardly be enough to keep a young 
child from starving. One might almost say, that the physical 
part of him has scarcely an existence of its own. The man 
is nothing but spiritual energy ; for, if it were not so, the 
perishing sickly frame would long since have been dissolved 
in spite of all the wisdom of the physicians. He is perhaps 
the only living being, whose mighty will is alone sufficient, by 
its own force, to urge forward the wheels of his physical na- 
ture and keep them constantly in motion. He will not be 
sick ; and he is not sick. His spiritual resources, his resolu- 
tion, his enthusiasm, endow him with the powers of a giant, 
although his bodily strength is not more than that of a boy 
of six years. He bids defiance to the deaths that threaten 
him in so many different forms. His spirit keeps his body 
alive. That spirit is still young and vigorous, and can cease 
to be so only when the too great tension shall have irritated 
the nerves to such a degree, that they will refuse to obey the 
will. Then, and then only, will that organism cease to be. 
It will destroy itself." 

After this personal sketch, the labors of a single day are 
thus set down : "I had scarcely taken my place, when the 
governor began to dictate a letter to general Bem ; and we 



352 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

were similarly engaged for about four hours, during which 
time I had written two letters, and each of my three colleagues 
three, by his dictation. He himself had, in the mean time, 
prepared two dispatches, one for Perczel and another for Ko- 
morn. After nine o'clock, leaving us work enough for the 
whole day, he went with the ministers Szemere and Duschck, 
who came for him, to the National Assembly, taking with 
him some papers, on which he had made several memoranda. 
He returned at about four o'clock in the afternoon, accompa- 
nied by several representatives, with whom he held a conference 
of two hours, answering their questions and suggestions. 
This, however, did not hinder him from examining the docu- 
ments we had prepared during his absence, or from dictating 
more letters. While he was thus dictating to us three or four 
letters, with totally different contents, and all coming off to- 
gether from the same lips, we had to be exceedingly cai'eful 
in committing them to paper, so rapid was his utterance. At 
six o'clock came more dispatches, and verbal inquiries, all of 
which were answered promptly. The representatives, with 
one exception, went away. The one remaining sat down by 
the side of Kossuth and began to help us. This made five 
secretaries ; and to give some conception of the labors of the 
evening, I will mention, that, from half-past seven to half-past 
eight, he dictated to us, at the same time, five important let- 
ters, all of different contents. One of them was to Dembinski, 
one to Bern, the third to Paris, the fourth to Gyongyos, and 
the fifth to Vienna. Two were in German, one in French, 
and one in Hungarian." Rightly does the secretary exclaim, 
as he records these labors — " Is it a man that can do such 
things !" 

But the toils of the day were not yet concluded : " After 
this," continues the witness, " Kossuth was some time engaged 
with figures, which he reckoned in a state of almost perfect 
abstraction. While he was thus occupied, his friend and 
family physician, the doctor and professor Bugat Pal, came in 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 353 

and interrupted him. He greeted the doctor, kindly pointed 
him to a chair, and returned to his occupation. The doctor 
took his left hand, which was yielded willingly, as if it did 
not belong to its owner; and he held it for about fifteen 
minutes, feeling the beat of the pulse, after which he retired 
without being noticed by the illustrious patient. At eleven 
o'clock, the head of one of my colleagues was already nodding; 
and both myself, and the one opposite to me, could hardly 
keep our eyes open. The clock struck twelve ; and the noise 
of the departure of the copyists roused him from his reflec- 
tions. * What time is it, gentlemen ?' he asked us; and when 
we told him it was just after twelve, he became unquiet, and 
a cloud suddenly passed over his brow. He arose from his 
seat, saying, ' Has no express arrived from Pesth ?' ' No,' 
was the answer; and he began to walk up and down the room. 
He did not seem to think, that it was time to be seeking rest ; 
and, as if to keep us from having such a thought, he said : 
' Gentlemen, there is work to be done yet !' Finally, after 
waiting vainly for another hour, he said to us : ' Let us take 
a little rest, gentlemen, while we are waiting. I will call you 
when I need your heljpl' " Yes, the tireless guardian of the 
nation, with all the dignities of his office on him, goes not to 
his couch leaving a command to be called when needed ; but, 
as if the servant of his servants, he gives them an untroubled 
sleep, promising to call them when he wants them ! 

There was more work, however, on its way to the hands of 
the great master-workman : " He went into his bed-room," 
continues the secretary, " and we arranged ourselves on the 
benches and slept with our fatigue as soundly as in the softest 
bed. But our rest was not of long duration. Between three 
and four o'clock, the dispatches arrived. Still half-asleep, we 
took our places, and Kossuth, that Watchman of his country, 
dictated to us as before. At six in the morning, we received 
permission to go away, while he went for a bath, though we 
were to be there again by eight o'clock \" Such, at this 

30* 



354 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTET. 

period, was the daily life of Kossuth, a man whose health had 
been broken by his long Austrian imprisonment. "We," 
says the secretary with good reason — "we are young and 
strong ; and such a night's watching, now and then, will not 
injure us. But it is not so with him. How long can this 
hero of the nineteenth century — this guide of our fatherland 
amid the foes that surround it — how long can his spirit sustain 
the contest that it carries on with the little of physical nature 
attached to it ? If, beyond the ocean, in the free and happy 
America, there are men who feel a sympathy for our good 
cause, we do not ask their prayers so much for the triumph 
of the Magyars as for the life of Kossuth ; for Hungary can- 
not be conquered — [the writer does not dream of her ever 
being betrayed] — so long as this incomprehensible being, 
whose name is Kossuth, is spared to us, though Kussians and 
Austrians enter our country by myriads, and though thousands 
of our brethren fall as sacrifices to the cause of freedom. He 
is the image of liberty, equality and fraternity. He is the 
incarnate spirit of justice. He is the Washington of Hun- 
gary !"^ 

While thus wearing out his life in the closet, he sent forth 
that celebrated proclamation to the Hungarian people, which 
concluded with the thrilling and prophetic sentence : " Be- 
tween Vesprim and Weissenburg the women shall dig a deep 
grave, in which we will bury the name, the honor, the nation 
of Hungary, or our enemies. And on this grave shall stand 
a monument^ inscribed with the record of our shame — ' So 
God punishes cowardice !' — or we will plant on it the tree of 
freedom, eternally green, from whose foliage shall be heard 
the voice of God speaking, as from the fiery bush to Moses — 



' This letter was published, at the time it describes, in all the 
leading political journals of Europe and America; and I know not 
to which one of them, in particular, it should be credited. In the 
process of abridging it, I have endeavored only to effect some im- 
provement of its style, without the smallest alteration of its facts. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 355 

' The spot whereon thou standest is holy ground — so do I re- 
ward the brave !' " 

These labors, and particularly this proclamation, were fol- 
lowed up by his incomparable popular addresses. Leaving 
his ministers to do what they could at home, and appointing 
his own sister, a noble woman, to act as superintendent of the 
public hospitals, worn as he was by toil, he undertook a grand 
tour of the kingdom in an open carriage, with his wife and 
children at his side, that he might talk with the people face 
to face, and rouse the masses by his eloquence. A traveler, 
who heard him at this period, has given a brief description of 
his style of speaking : " The effects of his oratory are astonish- 
ing. When he rises to speak, his features, finely molded and 
of an oriental cast, though pale and haggard, as from mental 
and physical suffering united, immediately excite interest. 
His deep-toned, almost sepulchral voice adds to the first im- 
pression. Then, as he becomes warmed by his subject, and 
lanches into the enthusiastic and popular manner peculiar to 
him, his hearers seem to imbibe all the feelings that so strongly 
reign in his own bosom, and to be governed by the safue will. 
In his present tour through the provinces to raise the land- 
strum — all the able-bodied — so great has been his power over 
the peasantry, that frequently men, women and even children, 
running to their homes and seizing hooks, or whatever their 
hands could find, assembled on the spot, and insisted on being 
led directly against the enemy V We read of no effects, more 
striking than these, as produced by the eloquence of the 
classic ages ! 

But it was in the National Assembly that his oratory was 
the most sublime and overwhelming. There he had an 
audience fit for him. There he felt the whole weight of his 
responsibility. There he was surrounded by those heroes, 
who, from the beginning, had sworn to live or die with him. 
Generally, after stating clearly and cogently the proposition 
to be established, and establishing it by the most cool and 



356 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

convincing arguments, lie would suddenly, toward the conclu- 
sion of a speech, break forth into those incomparable trans- 
ports of passion, in which his very soul seemed to be gushing 
out in supplication for his country's liberty. One of these 
wonderful addresses was delivered at the crisis now under con- 
sideration. He well knew the awful importance of the mo- 
ment. He knew the responsibility he assumed in giving 
counsel to the representatives of the nation. It might be, 
indeed it was, his last great appeal in behalf of his wronged, 
oppressed, invajded, bleeding fatherland. In a few days, the 
Austrians, Russians, Sclavonians, Croats, Serbs, Wallachians, 
would be down upon it. There was but a moment left him ; 
and that moment was to leave behind it either liberty or an- 
nihilation. After passing deliberately through a long array 
of facts and arguments, by which he carried conviction into 
every breast, he ceased to speak, but still maintained his posi- 
tion as a speaker. Raising his large and now watery eyes 
toward heaven, he seemed to be making his last petition, at 
the throne of eternal Justice, for his abused and afflicted 
country. A cloud passed over his countenance, as if he then 
saw, by prophetic illumination, a revelation of the future. 
Then, lowering his aspect a moment, and looking abroad, 
through the open windows of the building, upon the grand 
and historical scenery about him — the river, the plains, the 
mountains — he again raised his eyes and withered hands on 
high, exclaiming with that emphasis of his which no words 
can represent — " Hungary, Hungary, how can I give thee 
up ! bury me, Hungarian earth, within thy holy bosom, 
or be to me a land of freedom \" Every representative before 
him, even the iron-hearted generals, hearing the tones of his 
voice, and seeing the tears rolling down his face, wept like 
children ! 

Such patriotism, coupled with such efforts, could not be 
otherwise than successful. A regular army of nearly two 
hundred thousand men was the result of these unparalleled 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 357 

exertions. The noble-hearted sister of the governor, in every 
way -worthy of her brother, sent out a proclamation to her 
countrywomen, calling on them to do every thing in their 
power to aid the suffering cause of liberty. They obeyed the 
summons. Mothers, possessing Spartan valor, armed their 
sons and led them to the recruiting officers. Wives, relinquish- 
ing their titles to their husbands, encouraged them to enlist, 
choosing to see themselves widows and their children orphans, 
rather than witness the fall of freedom. Nay, unprecedented 
as is the fact, in Grecian or in Roman fame, maids, forgetting 
their sex and despising the dangers of their undertaking, 
formed themselves into companies, that they might occupy 
and hold the fortresses, and thereby release their fathers and 
brothers to fight the battles of their country on the field of 
blood. One aged matron, from the banks of the Theiss, came 
leading her more aged sire, a man of nearly eighty winters, 
and wished to be enrolled. They were asked what they could 
do in such a business. " If nothing more," they replied, "we 
can teach the younger ones how to die for Kossuth and their 
country I" The peasantry, wio had just been released from 
bondage, and who saw that the war had grown out of the 
generosity of the Magyars toward themselves, could hardly 
be restrained from rushing against the enemy unprepared, and 
throwing away lives which might soon be necessary to the 
triumph of the patriotic cause. "All they asked for was," 
says the author of the War in Hungary, " whether now the 
time had come for the people to rise en masse. Gray-bearded 
peasants shook the hands of my soldiers and said, with that 
tranquility which characterizes the Hungarian peasant — ' Don't 
you care ! We'll get the better of the Russians too. Hitherto, 
we sent our sons only ; but now, we, the old ones, will take 
horse !' " When that wonderful man, Louis Kossuth, was 
, again seated at his desk surrounded by his secretaries and 
copyists, in addition to the two hundred thousand soldiers, 
more than three times the number of Blagyar citizens were 



358 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

ready to rise up, at a moment's warning, in defence of tlieir 
country and its institutions. The differences of race and of 
religion were nearly all buried. The nation had assumed an 
attitude that rendered it utterly unconquerable. The patriot- 
ism, the faith, the eloquence of Kossuth had proved victorious. 
On his return to Pesth, on the 4th of June, he was over- 
whelmed with the gratitude of the citizens. Poets sang his 
praises. Orators pronounced panegyrics. Men, women, and 
little children, showered bouquets of flowers upon him, from 
the roofs and windows of their houses, as he passed through 
the streets of the city to his humble lodgings.* 

Having thus roused his countrymen, and filled the nation 
with his own spirit, he began to turn his eyes more directly to 
other countries. He opened a friendly negotiation with the 
government of Turkey. The sultan was understood to refuse 
a passage to the Russians through his dominions. The hero 
next looked to the lower provinces of the kingdom, which, in 
the beginning of the revolution, had been unanimously against 
him. There was now a powerful party in his favor ; and they 
sent him better promises than he had expected. He then 
tried the temper of the Italian democrats. They consented 
to assist him. He called upon the patriots of Austria. They 
flocked in great numbers to his standard. Through his agent, 
Tekeli, he tried the temper of the French. There he was for 
the first time entirely disappointed. Pulsky represented him 
in England. The English people were friendly to him. The 

* Pragay gives the number of the patriot forces, at this period, 
as one hundred and fifty-seven thousand ; but he excludes several 
smaller bodies of troops mentioned by other writers. Hungarian 
Struggle for Freedom, p. 75. Klapka is extremely indefinite in his 
numbers. There is a great deal of confusion, and not a little con- 
tradiction, in his figures. War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 61-80. I have 
followed the official documents of the War Office and the proclama- 
tions of Kossuth. Louis Kossuth and Hungary, p. 319, Eng. ed. 
The anecdotes I have gathered from the foreign journals. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 359 

English government, the ally of Austria, conducted itself with 
the most consummate illiberality. An envoy was dispatched 
to our own country. The' President of the United States sent 
a messenger to Austria, assigning him the duty of watching 
the progress of the revolution, that, at the first favorable op- 
portunity, the American government might acknowledge the 
independence of the Magyar nation. Last of all, throwing 
his whole energy into a concluding effort, this unconquerable 
man sent forth an address to the free nations of all Europe. 
There is nothing more powerful, more patriotic, more thrilling 
in any language. The concluding sentence of that address 
must be read with confusion of face, from this time for ever, 
by every people that turned a deaf ear to its entreaties : 
"Awake, ye people of Europe! On Hungarian ground, 
the battle of European freedom is now fighting ! With this 
country, the free world will lose a powerful member ! In this 
nation, a true and heroic champion will perish ; for we shall 
fight, till we spill the last drop of our blood, that our country 
may become either a chosen sanctuary of freedom, consecrated 
by that blood, or shall form a damning monument, to all eter- 
nity, in token of the manner in which tyrants can league 
together to destroy free peoples and free nations, and of the 
shameful manner in which free countries can abandon one 
another !" With the exception of the countries immediately 
about Hungary, Europe was silent at this heart-piercing call 
for succor. The noble Magyars, soon seeing that they were 
abandoned by the world to fight the great battle of human 
liberty alone, went to their bloody task like men of courage. 
They were resolved to survive as the champions of freedom, 
or to be buried with her ! 

General Welden, the successor of Windischgrats, had re- 
signed his command on the 1st of June. Haynau, the most 
barbarous commander of modern times, began his career with 
a series of military executions, in which the Hungarian officers, 
Mednyansky and Grubcr, and a minister of the gospel, the 



360 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Rev. Mr. Razga, were butchered in cold blood. His next step 
was to move his immense army, by slow and cautious marches, 
toward the Hungarian battle-line. Grbrgey, tired of his own 
obstinacy, began to look for an opening to commence offensive 
operations, instead of pursuing that defensive policy by which 
he had already sacrificed the certainty of a triumph. The 
opportunity, as he thought, soon occurred. His plans were 
at once laid. On the 16th of June, three separate but simul- 
taneous attacks were to be made on the Austrian army, from 
three different points. The day came and the attacks were 
made. From the camp at Mocshanok, on the southern side 
of the Danube, general Nagy Sandor moved to Sintau, pushed 
a column of the enemy from their position on the Neutra road, 
took possession of the neighboring heights, bombarded the 
city, expelled the garrison, and was about to collect the fruits 
of the victory, when the Austrians, reinforced from their rear, 
returned to the fight and carried all before them. The Hun- 
garians retired in disorder, leaving their artillery on the field 
of battle. On the same day, colonel Asboth was directed to 
make an assault upon the imperialists stationed on the opposite 
side of the Danube, under the command of general Pott. He 
performed this duty at great risk and with no lack of spirit. 
After marching for six hours over a marshy soil, into which 
the feet of both men and horses sank every step, he reached 
the little village of Kiralyrev, which he took and occupied. 
The Austrians retreated to a height between Pered and Zsigord. 
They were again driven from their position. The Hungarians 
entered the two villages ; but just as they were advancing 
into the streets, a powerful reinforcement from the corps under 
Wahlgemuth, the Austrian commander on that side of the 
Danube, took their places in the line of battle and decided the 
fortunes of the day against the Magyars. The patriots re- 
treated to their camp, leaving behind them three field-pieces 
and five hundred of their comrades. On this same day, also, 
colonel Kosztolany engaged the enemy posted on the island 



HUNG/VRY AND KOSSUTH. 361 

of Sliiitt, between the two principal arms of the Danube, that 
the Austrians there might be too much occupied to render 
assistance to their friend^ on either bank of the separating 
river. He left his camp at Nagy Megyer early in the morn- 
ing ; but the imperialists were so strongly entrenched on a 
broken ground, where the artillery of the Hungarians could 
not come into very effective action, that, after a lengthy and 
almost harmless cannonade, during which the Magyars suffered 
a severe loss of both men and horses, a repulse, a retreat, a 
lamentation were the only fruits of the undertaking. On all 
sides, indeed, the 16th of June was a day of discouragement 
to the patriots. It was the beginning of the final conflict be- 
tween the enemies and the friends of Magyar liberty ; and the 
Magyars, in spite of all their heroism, had been defeated in 
every action.* 

Gorgey was in neither of these engagements. They had 
been conducted, however, according to his orders. Chagrined 
at their ill success, he left the city of Pesth, where he had 
been engaged in the business of his ministerial office, and rode 
hastily to the camp of Klapka, resolved to turn the tide of 
battle by his presence. Reproving each of the officers for 
their several defeats, he at once issued his directions for a 
repetition of their late movement. Self-willed as he was, and 
flattered by his former successes, he was not the man to take 
a lesson from a solitary failure. The older officers assured 
him of the difficulties of the undertaking, the hazard he would 
run in risking another battle, and the ease with which he could 
secure the advantage of the enemy, by altering his plan of 
operations. Their reasonings, it is thought, convinced him of 
his error ; but it was his nature not to submit to circumstances, 
or to take advantage of them, when he had committed him- 
self in any particular direction. The battle must be fought 
over again. At every risk, Gorgey must show the army, that 



lOapka's War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 82- 
31 



862 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



Lis opinion was never to be doubted. On the 19th of June 
the word was given to repeat the maneuvers of the 16th pre- 
cisely according to the original arrangements. They were re- 
peated. They all proved unsuccessful. After an almost con- 
tinuous contest for thirty-six hours, during which prodigies of 
bravery were performed by the army of the patriots, they were 
forced to retreat from every battle-ground, and fly for shelter 
toward the great fortress. Gorgey himself, habited like a 
peasant, and driven in an open cart, hastened to the place of 
refuge with a downcast face and dejected spirits. The loss 
of the two days, in men, was about two thousand.^ 

Immediately after this engagement, the army of the im- 
perialists, finding a greater concentration of their forces neces- 
sary to such victories as their cause demanded, returned to 
Pressburg, and, crossing the river, proceeded down the high- 
way toward the city of Raab, which was slightly defended by 
ibout nine thousand patriots. The design of this maneuver 
was very evident. Several days, however, were to be thus 
occupied, before any attack upon the city could be expected. 
It is clear, therefore, that Gorgey should have concentrated 
the larger part of the armies about the fortress upon Raab. 
He should have known, that nine thousand could not stand 
long against five or six times their number. Such was the 
opinion of his officers. It was not his opinion. He was still 
too confident of his abilities. He neglected to augment the 
forces of Poltenburg, who commanded Raab, while he gave 
the imperialists every opportunity of bringing down as many 
soldiers as they would. The battle was fought on the 28th 
of June. It was a terrible struggle. Never, perhaps, in 
modern warfare, did a smaller number of men longer hold in 
check a larger army. The dispositions of the defence were 
admirable. The valor of the Hungarians was never surpassed 

° Klapka's War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 99-107. The loss of the 
Austrians I have not seen reported. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 363 

even by themselves. Not only Poltenburg, but colonel Kos- 
suth, a relative of the governor, together with several other 
officers, as well as all the men, covered themselves with unfad- 
ing honor. Gorgey himself, who reaehed the scene of action 
about twelve o'clock, and who immediately took upon himself 
the chief command, appeared in all his wonted heroism again. 
The Magyars began to give way as Gorgey came upon the 
ground. He rallied them to the fight again. Shock after 
shock was sustained by them. Charge after charge was made 
upon them. They received every thing, suffered every thing, 
braved every thing. Feats of daring, however, could not save 
the cause of the Hungarians. The difference against them 
was too decided. Late in the day, when they saw all farther 
resistance to be useless, they retreated from the city, marched 
in tolerable order to the Acz forest, behind the Kzouczo, where 
they were able to bivouac in safety.'' 

Resting but a single day in Raab, the enemy pushed onward 
upon the retreating Hungarians, who were obliged to seek 
shelter behind the fortifications opposite to Komorn. These 
fortifications are situated on a range of hills, on the southern 
side of the Danube, the highest of which is called the Monostor, 
from which it is easy to bombard both the fortress and city of 
Komorn on the Shtitt. It was of the first importance to both 
parties, therefore, to command these heights. From the g7'os 
of the Austro-Russian army, which had pitched its camp in 
the Acz forest, thirty thousand men were detached to carry 
this chain of hills at any cost. Gorgey, who was at liberty, 
by the help of two pontoon bridges communicating with the 
city and the fort, to throw a still larger force into the fortifi- 
cations, occupied them only with twenty-two thousand men. 
His pride would not allow him to meet the enemy on even 
terms. It seemed to be his resolution, that, while his victories 
should demonstrate his abilities to his friends, his defeats 

' Klapka's War in Hungary, vol. i, pp. 119-126, 



§64 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

should carry no encouragement to his foes. On the morning 
of the 2d of July, the hostile columns began to move, on the 
right and left wings of the Hungarian works. The first attack 
was partially successful. General Piketti, with a strong de- 
tachment of hussars, met the imperial legions, but was swept 
immediately from their path. A second time he rushed to 
the encounter, when he was more fortunate. The advancing 
columns retreated; but the Hungarians, pursuing their ad- 
vantages too far, were soon compelled to turn and leave several 
of their best field-batteries behind them. The entire force of 
the enemy was now directed against the Monostor. The com- 
bat waxed terribly severe. The Magyars were driven in on 
every side. The redoubts and outside breastworks were taken. 
The black and yellow ensign of the imperialists fluttered from 
the outer walls. A powerful detachment was sent round the 
base of the Monostor, between the mountain and the river, to 
cut off the connection of the Hungarians with Komorn. Be- 
tween the outside and the inside entrenchments, the Austro- 
Russian columns again formed. A few minutes more, and 
the Magyars would be flying, and rolling, and tumbling down 
the hill to the river's edge, there to meet a certain death at 
the hands of the detachment just mentioned, while the flag 
of the victors would be proudly flapping to the mid-day breeze. 
At this critical moment, G-orgey reached the threatened point. 
His presence had an astonishing effect. It is wonderful how 
the bare sight of him would throw new courage into the faint- 
est of his troops. Addressing a few words to his soldiers, in 
that martial strain so peculiar to himself, he transformed the 
most timid of them to a hero. They rallied to a single man. 
They resolved to show him, that they were worthy of his fre- 
quent eulogies, if it cost them their last drop of blood ; and, 
with one simultaneous sweep, they dashed against their oppo- 
nents, drove them from the outworks, broke through their 
center, cut their line of battle into three sections, and chased 
one of them to the borders of the Acz forest. The detachment 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 365 

at the base of the Monostor was annihilated by some strand- 
batteries on the other bank of the river. At five o'clock in 
the afternoon, the right wng of the enemy gave way, and fled 
to Mocza. The left wing yielded twice ; but Gbrgey, satisfied 
with his day's work, and seeing the night setting in, recalled 
the Hungarians to their entrenchments. He returned to camp 
himself with a severe cut upon the head, but in high spirits. 
The imperialists had been repulsed at every point; and they 
had at last, before nine o'clock, retired to their encampment, 
leaving upon the field of battle three thousand of their dead. 
The loss of the patriots was about half as great. ^ 

Immediately after this great battle, Gorgey was removed 
from his office as commander-in-chief, in consequence of his 
having disobeyed the orders of the government and broken 
his own word. His selfish obstinacy, with all his talents, was 
no longer to be endured. The secretaryship was also taken 
from him. He was allowed to retain his superior position in 
the central army, to which he had been so long attached. 
General Lazar Meszaros was elevated to the supreme command. 
Orders were at once issued, that, after leaving a suitable garri- 
son at Komorn, the army should retreat by the way of Waitzen 
and Pesth to the lower Danube, where a final stand was to be 
made of all the armies of the commonwealth, according to the 
tactics that had proved so successful in the second period of 
the war. Gbrgey openly opposed these instructions. Finding 
himself too weak, however, to succeed longer in defiance of 
the government, and yet determined to ruin if he could not 
rule, he sent in his resignation as a general officer, expecting 
thereby to throw discouragement upon the patriotic cause. 
He clearly foresaw the disastrous influence of such a step ; 
and he took it at a time when it was calculated to produce the 
most deleterious effect. His pride had been touched. He 
must have his revenge at any price. He might, in this way, 

' Kl.apka's War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 129-140. 
31* 



366 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

alsO; compel the government to revoke its mandate, and permit 
him, not only to resume his place, but to operate in liis own 
manner without restraint. His treasonable sagacity was des- 
tined partly to succeed. Though the secretaryship was not 
restored, at the request of his officers, he was reinstated as 
commander of the central army, the generous Kossuth finding 
it necessary, for the good of his country thus betrayed, to 
yield once more to the man of the selfish heart and iron will. 
Gorgey, thus flattered, remained in office, and immediately 
planned the disastrous battle of the 11th of July. 

At the early hour of seven o'clock, the Hungarian forces 
mustered behind the breastworks of their entrenched camp, 
where they could stand protected and unobserved. At nine 
o'clock, the right wing debouched under cover of a dense fog. 
The Austrian artillery opened upon the assailants at eleven 
o'clock. Colonel Assermann, with a few chosen troops, made 
a powerful attack upon the enemy's encampment in the Acz 
forest. G-eneral Leissingen made several vigorous charges 
with the bayonet. General Klapka, leading the third corps, 
advanced against the center of the imperialists at Csem, drove 
one brigade before him, but was at length stopped by a Rus- 
sian artillery reserve, which, for one hour, swept ofi" the patriots 
with a most fearful slaughter. Leissingen was compelled to 
retreat. Assermann was nearly cut to pieces before he could 
retire to a place of safety. Klapka, after performing miracles 
of bravery, was repulsed. The whole army, covered by the 
columns under Nagy Sandor, who had not found an oppor- 
tunity to fight, returned to its entrenchments, where Gbrgey 
awaited them with a heavy and disconcerted spirit. The 
Hungarian loss was over fifteen hundred. ^ 

While such sad fortunes were being suffered at the center 
of the Hungarian line, the left wing was enjoying a season of 
success. Perczel, whose hot temper had brought him into 

' KlfUpka's War in Hungary, vol. i. pp. 207-212. 



HUNQARY AND KOSSUTH. 367 

collision with Lis officers, had been superseded by general 
Vetter, one of the ablest commanders of the war. After the 
capture of Sz. Tamas, thi? army had been instructed to watch 
the movements of the Ban, and to keep him from forming a 
junction with the Austrians and Russians from the west and 
north. This order was admirably fulfilled. The Ban was 
headed at every step. On the 14th of July, three days after 
the last battle of Komorn, general Guyon, by the direction of 
Vetter, attacked the camp of Jellachich at Hegyes, carried it 
at the point of the bayonet, drove the Croats to the Fruska 
mountains, silenced all opposition in the south, and threatened 
the rebellious provinces with that chastisement, which their 
crimes deserved. The disasters of the central army, however, 
called loudly upon the south for help. Vetter, after all this 
success, was compelled to advance northward to Szegedin, to 
which, in consequence of the repeated misfortunes of the west, 
the government had fled. Jellachich came down from his 
mountain fastnesses, hung upon the rear of general Vetter, 
and watched his opportunity to co-operate more directly with 
the Austrians and Russians in the consummation of their 
bloody and despotic work.^" 

In the mean time, general Bem, who, when the difference 
was not too great against him, had gone from victory to vic- 
tory, had been overwhelmed by a combination of Austrian, 
Russian and Wallachian hordes. General Puchner, with his 
Austrian troops, and supported by the rising of the Wal- 
lachians, had found himself unable to stand against the im- 
petuous and unconquerable Pole. The Russian Scariatin had 
been sent by general Ltiders to his aid. In five several en- 
gagements, the combined armies had been defeated, routed, 
and driven over the Hungarian frontier. Kronstadt and 



•0 Pragay's Struggle for Freedom, pp. 76-78, and Pulsky's Mem. 
Hung. Lady, vol. ii. pp. 233-235. Klapka is singularly defective 
respecting the later operations of the south. 



368 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

Hermannstadt, the largest cities of Transylvania, had been 
stormed. The rebellious Wallachians had been scattered to 
their mountains. But the tide of victory had at last turned. 
Bern had been doing these wonders with only twenty thousand 
men. Against him soon marched, from three diflPerent sides, 
fourteen thousand Austrians, forty thousand Russians, and 
thirty thousand Wallachians. His ammunition at last failed. 
He was forced to retire from a contest so unequal. After 
losing several battles, and nearly all his men, he retreated 
toward the Theiss. Transylvania was again abandoned to the 
ravages of the foe." 

In the north of Hungary, the right wing of the Magyar 
army, commanded by general Visocky, the successor of Dem- 
binski from the first of June, had been compelled to retreat 
toward the south. Visocky, however, had been removed, upon 
which Dembinski again took command. His forces amounted, 
at this time, to thirty thousand men. Marching down behind 
the Theiss, where he met with little opposition, he had pro- 
ceeded to Szegedin in obedience to the general plan. It was 
the intention of the government, not only to make their final 
stand at this place, but to begin from it a new system of opera- 
tions, which had every prospect of success. Szegedin was, by 
nature, one of the strongest positions in the country. Situated 
at the confluence of the Maros and the Theiss, in a rough and 
impracticable region, in the midst of a devoted population, it 
was capable of holding out against almost any force, should all 
the rest of the kingdom be reduced. When Dembinski arrived 
there, after incorporating the southern army with his own, and 
calling in some scattered garrisons near at hand, he found 
himself at the head of nearly one hundred thousand well-tried 
troops. He so stationed himself, that he had the Theiss upon 
his front, the Maros upon his left, an impassable and uncon- 
querable country upon his right, and the Transylvanian moun- 

" Pragay's Struggle for Freedom, pp. 79-82. 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 369 

tains, whose passes could be easily guarded by general Bern, 
to support his position from behind. In a few days, by the 
zeal of one hundred thousand of the people, who came to help 
the soldiers, he threw up fortifications around his camp, which 
could defy three times as powerful an enemy as he had to 
meet. That enemy, too, before they could reach him, had to 
pass or annihilate general Grbrgey, who, when he wished to 
exert himself, had more resources in himself than could be 
found in all the generals of the Austro-Russian camp. One 
or two decisive victories, such as he had gained at the begin- 
ning of the war, and such as he was capable of gaining at 
almost any moment, when he would strike for his country in- 
stead of striking for himself, would bring the northern and 
western armies of the invasion to a final halt. The people 
of all Hungary, stirred by the last appeal of Kossuth, and 
panting for the opportunity to close the long struggle by one 
united and resistless stroke, were everywhere getting ready for 
their work. All things were now ready — all things were cer- 
tain — on the single condition, that every Magyar vfas resolved 
to be a Magyar indeed. 

In this critical condition of aflfairs, on the loth of July, 
Gorgey finally made a show of submission to the government 
and sullenly retreated from Komorn. Klapka remained to 
keep possession of the fort. The retreating army, divided into 
three corps d'armee, conducted respectively by Nagy Sandor, 
Leissingen and Poltenburg, proceeded slowly down the north- 
ern bank of the Danube on the road to Waitzen. They 
amounted to twenty-six thousand men. They were the bravest 
and best troops of Hungary. They were the heroes of more 
than thirty battle-fields. They had never given ground before 
an equal foe. They had oftentimes conquered more than 
three times their number. They now looked upon themselves 
as unconquerable by any force. They were attended by seven 
regiments of hussars, who were superior to any horsemen in 
the world. They carried one hundred and fifty field-pieces, 



370 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 



which, served by Magyars, were a match for at least three 
hundred on the other side. The Russians, whom they were 
about to meet, were principally young soldiers of small mili- 
tary experience ; and some of them were but little better than 
raw recruits. Such an army, with such a leader, surrounded 
and seconded by an enthusiastic population, could have marched 
from battle-field to battle-field, sweeping every Russian from 
its track. But the heart of its commander had grown cold. 
He had been superseded in the supreme command. He was 
now meditating his terrible revenge. It cannot be doubted, 
that, before he left the fortress, he had resolved to lead his 
confiding and patriotic troops, not to victory, but to a dishonor 
worse than death. Not daring to show his treason, while the 
spirit of the army remained unimpaired, he sought every op- 
portunity to sap their confidence, and to demoralize their senti- 
ments, by overstating the forces of his opponents, and by 
propagating disparaging falsehoods of every kind. The dis- 
cipline of his soldiers was permitted to run down. They were 
allowed to perpetrate all sorts of lawlessness on the road. On 
his arrival at Waitzen, on the 15th, instead of pouring down 
upon the Russian division, which occupied the town, as he 
would have done — as he did do — less than three months be- 
fore, he merely pushed the enemy from the city, that he might 
not be disturbed in his passage through. The nest day, when 
the Russians returned upon him with some determination, he 
kept them at abeyance with his artillery, while he was making 
his preparations to advance. He left the city on the following 
night; but his departure was so carelessly managed, that, at 
four o'clock the next morning, when the main body was far 
on its way toward the Theiss, the rear-guard and the baggage- 
wagons were just moving from the streets. The wagons were, 
of course, captured ; but a portion of them were recovered by 
a few divisions, which had not made much progress in the 
march. At Rima-Szombath he was open enough to receive 
the present of a suit of Russian arms from the hands of general 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 371 

Riidiger. He not only accepted the gift, but returned the 
compliment by sending to the Russian officer several articles 
of his own. An armistiqe of twenty-four hours was asked by 
his wily antagonist; but Grorgey, not feeling quite certain, at 
that moment, that the demoralization had proceeded sufficiently 
far to justify so bold a step, declined the invitation. At the 
next station, however, he removed the chief of his general 
staff, and substituted his own brother, lieutenant-colonel Armin 
Gorgey, that he might the more safely carry on his treason- 
able intent. Hundreds of his soldiers were left to die on the 
public road. Hundreds were permitted to desert. At Put- 
nak, in the north of Hungary, he began to speak definitely 
of making a surrender to the enemy. At Szolcza, his troops 
defended themselves against their pursuers with a portion of 
their former spirit ; but while they were engaged in the bloody 
work of giving and receiving death, their general amused 
himself in playing with several of his favorites at a game of 
chance. At Szikso, a little farther on, his aunt was appre- 
hended by the authorities of the place ; and they found on her 
several letters from him to Paskievicz, the Russian commander 
of the north, which marked him as a very doubtful, if not a 
dangerous, man. These letters were dispatched, by Nagy 
Sandor, to the government at Szegedin. Kossuth, alarmed 
at their contents, appointed a conference with G'orgey, which 
was to be had at Szibakhaza. Gorgey, however, was not wil- 
ling to meet the patriot, though he knew nothing of the cap- 
ture of the letters. At Debreczin, the first corps was attacked 
by the Russians, and, for the first time in thirty fights, de- 
feated. They fought all day like heroes, against six times 
their number, while Gorgey, who was at Vamospercz, not two 
hours distant, never stirred a foot to save them from destruc- 
tion. Having arrived at Arad, he sent a peremptory demand 
to Kossuth to be acknowledged as dictator, an office but re- 
cently conferred upon the great statesman as the last resort of 
fifteen millions of trusting and yet hopeful people. Behold 



372 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

the diflferenee between a patriot and a traitor ! Kossuth, 
governed by the idea that the soldier, rather than the civilian, 
was the man for such a crisis, and having no object but to 
save his country, nor harboring the least i-esentment to his 
rival, resolved to satisfy the heart of Grorgey. He hoped by 
this measure to bring him to a sense of his responsibility, to 
rouse his well-known abilities by touching his ambition as a 
leader, and to make him a patriot by setting him a high ex- 
ample. Alas ! examples are lost upon such spirits ! This 
demand to be made the irresponsible ruler of the nation was 
only a part of the premeditated plan of treason. It was the 
one thing essential, not before secured, by which to render the 
act of betraying his poor country legal. Having made all his 
arrangements with the Russians, and with a sufl&cient number 
of his own minions, Arthur Gorgey, as Dictator of the Hun- 
garian nation, on the 13th of August, 1849, at the village of 
Boros Jeno, near Vilagos, surrendered his person, his army, 
and the liberties and independence of his country into the 
hands of those, who, for three hundred years, had been bent 
on accomplishing its destruction ! 

The scene of the surrender beggars all description. An 
eye-witness, in giving some account of it to the Allgemeine 
Zeitung, the great German paper, exhausts the exuberant 
vocabulary of his language in the fruitless effort : " After I 
had wound my way along," says the writer, " with a great deal 
of trouble, I reached a small straw-roofed building, the only 
inn in the place. As soon as I entered, I saw the Russian 
commander-in-chief and Gorgey, who, for forty-eight hours, 
had been the Dictator of Hungary. He was dressed in his 
simple but romantic costume, which differed very much from 
that of his general-staff, who stood around him. In a light 
brown blouse, with a golden collar, riding-boots reaching far 
above the knee, a round black hat surmounted with a waving 
white feather, he was joking with a beautiful young girl, into 
whose ear he was whispering flattering nonsense ! The general- 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 373 

stafiF floated around him, their splendor and magnificence re- 
calling the times of Hunnyadi and Zrini. Every one was 
dressed in his most elegant uniform, as if for a festival. The 
sun-burnt, youthful, thin figures, in short Attilas with heavy 
gold trimmings, hats with waving feathers on their heads, 
mounted on fiery horses, galloping to and fro, formed a group 
as warlike as the fancy of a painter could describe. In the 
midst of this, a general commotion soon took place. Gorgey 
had thrown himself on bis horse. He was followed by his 
glittering suite. It was the last act in the grand drama of the 
Magyar war. Only a soldier's heart can comprehend the feel- 
ing with which a warrior is parted from his arms. Many 
seemed torn in pieces in helpless agony. Others wept as they 
printed a parting kiss upon the cold steel. A great number 
shrieked out with rage to be led against the enemy, rather 
than be subjected to this disgrace. I saw how ofiicers and 
men threw themselves into each other's arms, and, sobbing, 
bid each other a long farewell. Others raved against their 
officers and accused them of selfishness. No pen can describe 
the wo, the despair, which prevailed among the hussars. 
Many shot their horses; and they, who would have lost a 
limb without a groan, sobbed like children. Gorgey rode 
round, proud, and immovable as a marble statue of Mars ; 
and it was only now and then, that his ringing metallic voice 
was heard exhorting the soldiers to make haste !" 

Alas ! alas ! that the anagram of Frederic, and the long- 
fostered purpose of the despotic house of the Hapsburgs, 
should be at last fulfilled through the treachery of a Hungarian 
soldier ! But, from the instant of the treason, the curses of 
the world are upon the traitor. The curses of his own con- 
science are upon him. All these maledictions, with the dis- 
pleasure of a righteous God, are now upon the man, who, to 
revenge himself upon his rival, sold his country to its oppres- 
sors, when, by one splendid action, by one patriotic effort, by 
one crowning victory, such as the one hundred thousand sol- 

32 



374 HUNGARY Al^ri KOSSUTH. 

dicrs at Szcgedin were panting for, he could have annihilated 
the armies of the invasion, bid defiance to the Austrian despot, 
and given liberty and tranquility to fifteen millions of his 
countrymen. Or if, instead of achieving such a triumph, he 
was destined to fall on the field of battle, and to close his eyes 
on a subjugated country, he could at least have done his duty 
and died the death of a Leonidas, or a Ragoczy. 

Immediately upon the perpetration of this deed, the army 
of the new capital was disbanded. Many of the men, and 
several of the officers, ended their present agony by putting 
pistols to their foreheads. Others fell upon their swords, or 
pierced their hearts with the Magyar stiletto. Hundreds, 
whole companies, rather than fall into the hands of their 
merciless oppressors, burst through the encampment, flying to 
the high hills and deep gorges of the mountains, to terminate 
their sorrows by starvation. Kossuth, the spotless patriot, but 
now a private citizen — Kossuth, the great orator and states- 
man — Kossuth, the friend and benefactor of his people, seeing 
that all was lost, and loaded with the grief of the whole na- 
tion, fled in tears toward the southern borders of the king- 
dom, to beg a temporary hiding-place in a barbarous but not 
an unfeeling country ! ^^ 

Hungary was now fallen. Haynau, the butcher, at once 
erected his scafi"olds for the execution of the friends of Mag- 
yar freedom. Scores of the noblest of the land were igno- 
miniously hung for having defended the liberties of their 
country. Other scores had the favor shown them of baring 

''^ It has been asserted, by tbe slanderers of Hungary, that Kos- 
suth took with him the sacred crown of St. Stephen ; but the charge 
is indignantly denied by all Hungarians. Adjutant Asboth, in the 
London Times for Nov. 1, 1849, says — "As to the crown of Hungary, 
it was sealed up by a committee of the diet, and delivered into the 
charge of the responsible minister, who duly provided for its safety. 
I can solemnly aver, to the best of my belief and knowledge, that 
the president-governor never saw it in his life." 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 375 

tlieir foreheads to the rifle. "Week after week, the blood of 
the patriots ran in rivulets. Month after month, nothing was 
heard but the voice of weeping and lamentation. On a single 
day, soon after the surrender, thirteen of the ablest generals 
of the war were murdered in cold blood, because they had 
fought to save their homes from the assaults and abominations 
of foreign soldiers. Four of them were dispatched before day- 
break. Among these was Ernest Kiss, the richest land pro- 
prietor in the Banat, whose brother had been made insane by 
the treachery of Giirgey. He died a most shocking death. 
The soldiers fired three rounds before the general fell, though 
he was wounded at each discharge. His death struggles con- 
tinued for ten minutes. Aulich and Leissingen, the oldest 
and the youngest of the oflacers, died next. Leissingen had 
had the opportunity offered him of making his escape; but 
he chose martyrdom to a dishonorable flight. As he walked 
to the place of execution, one of his guard presented him his 
wine-flask. "Thank you, my friend," said the general, "I 
want no wine to give me courage — bring me a glass of water." 
On reaching the bloody ground, he stooped down, and wrote 
upon his knee a few words to a near relative : " I commend 
to you, dear brother, my poor Liska and my two children. I 
die for a cause which has always appeared to me just and holy. 
If, in happier days, my friends ever desire to avenge my death, 
let them remember, that humanity is the best political wis- 
dom." Torbk, Lahner, Poltenberg, Knezich and Nagy Sandor, 
fell successively. Vecsey was compelled to stand, and see all 
these comrades fall, before he was permitted to share their fate. 
At last came the Servian Damjanics, the hero of southern 
Hungary, who, in thirty battles, had never turned his face 
from an advancing enemy. He had been standing as a spec- 
tator of the previous executions from six till half-past ten 
o'clock. He had become weary and impatient. When he 
could endure the delay no longer, he stepped to an Austrian 
officer and inquired, what could be the meaning of his being 



376 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

left so long : " How is it that I, who in battle used to be the 
first, am now the last?" He fell without a murmur or a 
struggle; and with him ended the massacre of the 6th of 
October, the anniversary of the third and last revolution of 
Vienna. 

Similar scenes were enacted all over Hungary. Transyl- 
vania was given up to the tender mercies of the blood-thirsty 
Urban. Not only ofl&cers, soldiers and citizens, but defence- 
less women, for practising the virtues that belong to them, 
were led out in crowds to the place of slaughter. Ladies of 
the most tender education, whose only crime was that of show 
ing pity to a hunted relative, were condemned to the halter, 
or to the bastinado. Among others, the wife of a lawyer, of 
the name of Csat, was condemned to be flogged for concealing 
her own son-in-law, who had served a short time as an officer 
in the Hungarian army. When the poor woman was seized 
in her own dwelling, she took down a portrait of Kossuth, 
kissed it, pressed it to her heart, and then went willingly to 
the market-place, where the punishment was to be inflicted. 
On the way there, it was discovered, that her condition was 
too delicate to endure the whip; and so the sentence was 
commuted. On the 24th of October, Baron Perenyi, ex- 
president of the upper house, and M. Szacsvray, clerk of the 
loA7er house, and the draftsman of the Hungarian Declaration 
of Independence, together with several of the most distin- 
guished of the representatives, were hung like common male- 
factors by order of the Austrian general. 

No sooner was it known, that Kossuth and his companions 
had thrown themselves upon the compassion of the Turkish 
government, than every exertion was made, by Austria and 
Kussia, to get the refugees sent back again and delivered into 
the hands of their victorious enemies. Threats and promises 
were both brought to bear upon the Turk. The world looked 
on, with the deepest interest, to see how he would decide a 
question, which involved the life of his noble guests. It was 



HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 377 

generally believed, that he would not dare to deny what Rus- 
sia, backed by Austria, had demanded. While the matter 
was in negotiation, however, a benevolent but dishonorable 
scheme was started, by certain Turkish oflficers, to save the 
fugitives. There was an old law, that an alien, fleeing from 
justice, and entering the territories of the Sublime Porte, 
could challenge and secure the protection of the state, by 
abjuring his national faith, and professing the religion of 
Mahomet. This subterfuge was now offered to the Hun- 
garians. A time was fixed upon for them to give their answer 
to the proposition. In the mean while, but just prior to the 
important day, Kossuth sent his celebrated letter to lord Pal- 
merston, in which he describes his critical condition, and, as 
a dying man, entreats the English minister to show compas- 
sion to his family : " Time presses. Our doom may in a few 
days be sealed. Allow me to make an humble personal re- 
quest. I am a man^ my lord, prepared to face the worst ; and 
I can die with a free look at heaven, as I have lived. But I 
am also, my lord, a husband, son, and father. My poor, true- 
hearted wife, my children, and my noble old mother, are 
wandering about in Hungary. They will probably soon fall 
into the hands of those Austrians, who delight in torturing 
even feeble women, and with whom the innocence of child- 
hood is no protection against persecutions. I conjure your 
excellency, in the name of the Most High, to put a stop to 
these cruelties by your powerful mediation, and especially to 
accord to my wife and children an asylum on the soil of the 
generous English people I" 

The day at length arrived. The Hungarians were brought 
out, by a Turkish officer, where they could stand in each other's 
presence, and where the example of one defection would have 
its influence upon the company. Many of the poor fugitives, 
it must be confessed, loved life too well to stand against the 
powerful temptation. The great Bem himself, who was a sol- 
dier simply^ renounced the creed of his fathers and became a 

32* 



378 HUNGARY AND KOSSUTH. 

follower of the prophet. Kossuth was called on last. His 
reply may well go down to posterity as the sublime response : 
'' My answer," said the Christian patriot, " does not admit of 
hesitation. Between death and shame, the choice can neither 
be dubious, nor difficult. Grovernor of Hungary, and elected 
to that high place by the confidence of fifteen millions of my 
countrymen, I know well what I owe to my country even in 
exile. Even as a private individual, I have an honorable path 
to pursue. Though once the governor of a generous people, 
I leave no inheritance to my children. They shall at least 
bear an unsullied name. Grod's will be done. I am prepared ^l 
to die!" " 

Such was Hungary; such have been her struggles; and 
such were the career and character of her glorious champion. 
Though now fallen, and writhing under the iron heel of her 
oppressor, she has a future ; and when her hour shall come, 
as surely it will come, the civilized world will have a duty to 
perform. By that time the free nations of the earth will 
have learned the rights and the wrongs of this race of self- 
sacrificing democrats. The American republic will have 
learned them ; and, whatever it may be wise and prudent for 
the government to do, or not to do, when the next crisis comes, 
the people will not fail to show themselves the enemies of op- 
pression, and the friends of universal freedom. 



THE END. 



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